Jacksonville Progress
JACKSONVILLE — While I do not live in the Jacksonville city limits I am part of the Jacksonville community and have been for most of my life. I patronize Jacksonville businesses, receive services, support the schools, and attend church here in Jacksonville. The actions and decisions of those who live in the Jacksonville city limits affect me and my family — a lot.
The Progress Jacksonville Committee is flaunting the taxes from alcohol sales as the thing that is going to save Jacksonville and the surrounding community. I would beg to differ. I have never, in my 55 years, seen any city or community thriving from the taxes made from alcohol sales. In fact, the opposite is more to the point as those tax dollars are spent on more Law Enforcement, medical/health, sanitation/litter, and service for those families torn apart and destroyed by alcohol. In fact, refer to the Feb. 17 Letter to the Editor that described how our youth would vote on alcohol and read their stories as to why they don’t want alcohol sold in Jacksonville.
A case in point is the city of Cuney, which voted to sell alcohol several years ago. What progress has been made there from the sale of alcohol? At one time an aircraft company was to locate in the western end of Cuney — where is it? Cuney, at one time, had a small store and gas station — where is it? I cannot observe any growth or improvement in Cuney as I drive through this city. The situation is similar for other cities in our area that sell alcohol. Gladewater, Big Sandy, Kilgore for example — where is the vast growth and improvements in these cities? Yes, the tax revenue for these, and other cities selling alcohol, may be up but where is that revenue going — what is it being spent on? I don’t see that these cities are thriving and greatly improved due to the taxes from alcohol. In fact, Kilgore schools are dropping down in their U.I.L. classification. If alcohol is such a boon for a community, why aren’t more people flocking to Kilgore, Gladewater, Big Sandy, or Cuney?
If the Progress Jacksonville Committee really wants progress for Jacksonville, why don’t they team up with JEDCO and recruit, develope, and build new businesses in Jacksonville? You can drive along virtually any street in the business sector of Jacksonville and find empty stores, businesses, or manufacturing plants. Is alcohol going to put these businesses back in operation and put fathers and mothers back to work so they can support their families? I think not. And what progress will be realized from the loss of tax revenues because some shoppers choose to make their purchases from stores and stations outside of Jacksonville where alcohol isn’t sold?
In truth there is absolutely NO progress from the sale or use of alcohol. I want to see Jacksonville and the surrounding community grow and prosper as much as the next person; as much as anyone on the Progress Jacksonville Committee, but that growth and prosperity should come from enhancing our schools, business and manufacturing community, and our families, NOT from the sales of a product that only tears down and destroys. Trusting in the taxes from alcohol to save our city and community is akin to trusting in the lottery to save our education system and schools. My school and property taxes for education haven’t dropped yet — have yours?
David Pike,
Jacksonville
