Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

On my mind: Not a laughing matter

There are a lot of good things falling into place for Gurdon  things that could help this town become a little more of what it use to be.

The most prevalent thing happening is, of course, the Clark County Strategic Plan. The plan, as illustrated in an article just last week, is truly a county-wide plan. Its not one to help just Arkadelphia. There is one catch, however, its going to take everyone to make sure Gurdon reaps the benefits once the plan is finalized this summer.

I cant help but get the idea that, although they may support the plan on the surface, some in the community are a bit skeptical of the things that could take place right here in Gurdon.

While in a meeting not long ago, the speaker was talking about the possibility of new subdivisions and housing developments being built around this small town. A person in the crowd snickered (I think Im the only one who heard it) as if this was an idea that could never happen. First of all this person is one who should be on the forefront of making these things happen, and second of all I think it is a very logical idea.

Lets pretend Arkadelphia just got a new business  well say its a customer service call center for a national corporation like Dell computers. (Yes, these types of places are built all over, and the corporations are looking to get out of India.)

Now weve got this new business coming in 15 miles up the road that is going to employ, hmmm, lets say 150 people. Why couldnt the City of Gurdon attract many of these people into a new housing area? After all, we have excellent schools, churches of almost every denomination and an overall attractive community (it could use a little work).

There are a lot of people who want to work in a larger city but prefer to live in a smaller town. Why not capitalize on this? It wont be successful if the town waits until a corporation announces it is coming into the area before the move to create housing is made.

So I say that to say this: (1) the people of Gurdon should unite to see that they get the best bang for their buck as far as the strategic planning goes, (2) action should be taken now, not later and (3) if youre in a position of authority, watch not only what you say, but also watch your snickering because they make for good column topics.