The move by the Piggott City Council recently to fund the hiring of an economic development director was bold, and neccessary.

Last December local voters rejected a proposed sales tax issue that would have funded the hiring of such a person, now the city fathers have stepped-up to help insure a bright future for our town.

Without an aggressive economic development plan we are doomed to the same fate that has be-fell far too many small cities. It's simple economics..if you have no money from jobs you cannot support your local businesses. If you have no local businesses you have no local tax base to provide needed services.

Without good jobs, with some semblance of a future, people are forced to move to more urban areas. If you add the factor of higher fuel prices you have fewer commuters as workers are forced to move closer to their jobs.

When the "working class" begins to move away you lose tax dollars and another resource..our youth. And with a loss of that our schools lose funding and the possibility of future consolidation looks much more likely.

Maybe it sounds like gloom and doom, or hand-wringing, to you but it is a good likliehood. Just drive through any number of smaller towns in our region and look at the empty storefronts and buildings. There are some that have completely dried-up and blown away. We cannot let that happen in Piggott and I, for one, applaud the mayor and city council for taking a stand.

I'll have a more detailed update on the efforts to find an economic development director for the city of Piggott in the June 18 print edition of The Piggott Times.