I've been known to go against popular opinion on numerous issues. Most have been moral issues based on Biblical principles, so I have always felt I had good backing -- from heaven -- for stating what I knew to be the truth even when a good part of the world was headed in the opposite direction. However, on this one, I claim no divine direction, not even the certainty I'm right, just a feeling in my gut that tells me that current popular opinion might not stay so popular in the future.
And, I've written a column before on the price cities and towns pay for growth when growth is sought at any cost. In the April 26 issue of the Eagle Observer, I wrote: "All this leads me to wonder how much growth is a good thing and when too much growth can make life miserable. Everyone seems to want growth; but me, I am not so sure ... Growth is usually good for business, and most cities and towns have a chamber of commerce to encourage growth and attract new businesses and new residents. States, too, offer incentives to attract business and industry to create jobs and increase tax revenue. Even the federal government is controlled by big businesses and guided by groups like the Council on Foreign Relations to increase trade and economic development worldwide and protect the interests of big banks and corporations around the globe ... Is it possible to be too growth-minded and to sacrifice quality of life for the sake of economic growth? Most of our communities boast of a small, hometown atmosphere but yet we ambitiously seek to attract more businesses, more housing developments and, yes, more tax dollars so we can build more amenities and attract more people and businesses and grow bigger and ... the cycle goes on. But if we continue to build and grow and build and grow, what will happen to that small-town atmosphere we all love? We could easily and quickly become another big metropolis where people don't know their own neighbors and just driving to the corner drug or grocery store is a major ordeal."
It's hard to write what follows without sounding a bit prejudiced and bigoted. I'm not (I hope). My ancestors got off the same boat as the ancestors of everyone else in this world, and Noah is a common great-great-great grandfather to us all. But, at the same time and at the risk of offending some of my several-steps-removed kinfolk, I believe in being honest and realistic about the situation.
You see, I've been to places like Lexington, Neb., Garden City and Dodge City, Kan., and I could mention more towns in more states. They were once nice little towns with low crime rates. They were places where one could feel good about buying a home and raising a family. Then came the opportunity for economic growth and huge packing plants were brought in. The cities didn't dwindle and die like many western towns; they grew and some businesses thrived. But the growth was not all positive; it also brought challenges.
Though all three of these towns are rich in Old West history and have good features, none of them are high on the list of places I'd choose as a place to live or raise a family. The town atmospheres have changed.
I remember attending a law-enforcement training at the community college in Garden City (after the packing plant opened) and being somewhat shocked that the Safeway grocery store had uniformed armed guards on duty near the doors and checkout lanes. And the trash everywhere on my last visit was disturbing.
Looking at current 2016 crime statistics, Garden City has a crime rate 17 percent higher than the average in the state of Kansas and 27 percent higher than the national average. In Dodge City, the overall crime rate is 12 percent higher than the Kansas average and 22 percent higher than the national average. And though crime is down in Lexington due to joint efforts of police and the public, in 2013 it was ranked at No. 9 in a listing of the most dangerous cities in Nebraska.
With English being a second language to so many students in Garden City and Dodge City, school performance has fallen well below the state average, based on high school test scores. The same holds true for Lexington.
And the population shift in those towns reveals that the descendants of those with roots in the towns are fleeing and living in other places. Those in the majority have become minorities. I'm not saying that is bad, just pointing out what has happened. And, it's probably true that the children of those who worked to bring the economic growth to their hometowns now have different hometowns.
So, what does all this mean for Gentry, Decatur and the west side of Benton County? If the Simmons poultry plant is built here as planned, and I expect it will be, more jobs will come and the area can expect growth in population and growth in local spending. That sounds good, but what I struggle with is what that growth will do to the quality of life and hometown atmosphere we all enjoy. Certainly, what has happened in other cities and towns doesn't have to happen here, but it may. As has happened in the towns above and numerous other places, crime could rise and the quality of education could possibly decline as schools struggle to provide a quality education to more and more students with English as a second language.
Should local residents oppose the new poultry plant? I'm not saying that, but I do understand the concerns some have voiced in opposition to the expansion plans.
And rather than looking at everything through dollar-sign glasses and scoffing at anyone opposed to the new "growth," we need to consider the full ramifications of what that growth will do to our small towns and our ways of life.
As I said in my April column, growth in western Benton County will likely come whether we want it or not. And a huge poultry-processing plant will bring growth, but it will also bring with it changes and challenges those eager for economic growth may not have considered. It could possibly change the very fabric of our hometowns, our schools and our lives. Before applauding growth and endorsing projects, we need to ask ourselves if this is what we really want for our communities and whether we are up to the coming challenges.
Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 12/13/2017