The year 2000 will be remembered as a very unique year for the Mississippi
Delta as we saw many changes occur in our region of this state that will
have great consequence on our future. There were positive and negative;
however in my view the positives outnumbered the negatives. Below are my
thoughts and observations on what took place in the year 2000 in the
Mississippi Delta.
At the start of 2000, there was much anticipation here in the Delta as to
whom our next governor would be. Not so different from our current
presidential election, Mississippians woke up on January 1, 2000 still not
knowing who our new governor would be. However, when the legislature
convened, Musgrove won the most votes from the legislature and former
Congressmen Mike Parker accepted the outcome.
Musgrove has proven to be a true friend to the Mississippi Delta. He
understands the needs of our farmers and the needs of our economic
developers, the latter of whom will now have some new tools to use in order
to lure industry and business to the Delta thanks to Musgrove’s special
session which took place a few months ago. The special session was a big win
for the Mississippi Delta and could perhaps be the most positive thing that
happened to the Delta in 2000.
Other positives for the Delta: the I-69 corridor and a new bridge that will
cross the Mississippi River at the Bolivar - Washington County line.
In 2000, the Delta became one step closer to this interstate/bridge project
becoming a reality. A site was selected and for the first time, possible
completion dates were announced. When this project is completed, a major
interstate will run from Canada to Mexico passing through the top portion of
the Mississippi Delta which will spur a significant amount of economic
growth here. There is an old saying that where the highways and byways go,
so grows economic development. We have all seen what happened with
Batesville and Grenada when I-55 came along in those communities. Before
then, Batesville and Grenada were just small towns with limited
opportunities. Now, these areas are some of the fastest growing areas in
Mississippi largely due to I-55.
The bridge at the Bolivar - Washington County lines, talked about for the
past 25 years, will also create many economic development opportunities as
the Delta will be open to an entirely different market - the Arkansas Delta.
Although we Deltans love the Mississippi River, the river acts as a
veritable wall between West and East as there is currently no feasible way
to conduct daily business with the Arkansas Delta, an area not so different
in population or size than our Mississippi Delta. After the bridge and I-69
become a reality, the Mississippi Delta will truly be the crossroads of the
South.
Additionally, three weeks ago Nissan’s announcement to spend almost $1
billion building a facility in Madison County will be a direct benefit to
the Delta’s manufacturing and other suppliers.
The year 2000 also marked a year in which the Delta experienced some
negatives. Greenwood lost several industries, delivering a significant blow
to that community; and the recent announcement of Fruit of the Loom closing
its facility in Greenville, as well as layoffs in factories in Cleveland and
other towns were also unfortunate developments.
Agriculture also had another tough year making it the third consecutive bad
year. Farming is the Mississippi Delta and when our farmers have problems,
we all feel it. A new farm bill is a must to ensure that our farmers move
forward.
The Future
It is time for all of us to pull together in the Delta and in Mississippi.
Regardless of what has taken place in the past as to who did what to whom,
the fact is that this is all behind us and we have all arrived here today at
this very place, at this very point in time and must move forward. Despite
all of our problems, the Mississippi Delta is blessed many times over. And,
despite all that you read in other papers, such as the Clarion-Ledger that
has specialized in writing negative stories about the Delta, we are moving
forward economically. Perhaps more than at any other time in our history, we
have the tools to succeed and we can succeed provided we all work together
to ensure that this bright future becomes a reality.
The Delta Business Journal will continue our stand of being a pro-business
publication that will highlight the positive things that take place in our
region of Mississippi. We will also make the pledge that the Delta Business
Journal will do its part and more to ensure that the future of the
Mississippi Delta is bright. We believe in the Delta. And, we believe in our
people.