A time for unity

By Staff
June 30, 2004
Sometimes, there is no substitute for seeing a successful project up close and hearing its organizers describe the trials and tribulations of its development. From all indications, that's what Lauderdale County supervisors saw and heard last week when they visited a modern industrial park near Birmingham. The trip was sponsored by Mississippi Power and the East Mississippi Business Development Corp.
Hopefully, there are lessons to be learned from the visit to the Jefferson County, Ala., industrial park, lessons that can inject a sense of urgency into development of Lauderdale County's Interstate 20/59 Industrial Park. Our park has been under development for at least four years. Only recently has construction begun on such basic services as water and sewer, and a planned interchange is still up in the air.
In order to hope to attract new businesses and industry, Lauderdale County supervisors, city officials and private interests are going to have to work more closely together to complete the I 20/59 Industrial Park. As the lessons of Jefferson County, Ala. show, the time for division is past, and the time for unity in this important endeavor is at hand.