The future of PB is on the line

To the Editor,

For who could hold more concern for the future of Poplar Bluff than those of us preparing to start our careers and families? As a university student nearing graduation, the question I face is whether or not to return to Poplar Bluff after graduation. Each year, more and more college graduates decide not to return to Southeast Missouri. It is time to reverse this trend. The starting point is for the members of this community and politicians that serve it to put their full effort behind the Eight Points Development project. Not only will it bring the much needed job growth to Poplar Bluff, but it will also allow the community to grow culturally. Eight Points is poised to bring a level of sophistication and enrichment to Poplar Bluff that such projects as the Black River Coliseum and expansion of Highway 67 to four lanes have brought. The good news is that PBRMC has decided to build their new hospital at Eight Points (if granted permission by the state on Sept. 12) This will make Eight Points more than just a retail hub for Poplar Bluff, it will become a silver lining for a community that is consistently losing its best and brightest to other communities that offer such amenities as what Eight Points will deliver. It is time for Poplar Bluff to step up and become the focal point in Southeast Missouri on the merits of quality healthcare, thriving retail stores and economic prosperity, and it all comes together through the Eight Points Development project.

Where are our public servants on this issue? Too busy being politicians? Hats off to State Representative Todd Richardson for his efforts to end the C.O.N. process by the state, this process has allowed politics to become injected into a situation that should be reserved for the private sector and free of "pay to play" politics. It is time for all those involved (and the many hiding from involvement) to put politics aside and step up to the plate. Poplar Bluff's future is on the line, let us see that it is one that brings the sophistication and enrichment that our college graduates are seeking.

Derek Spencer

University of Mississippi

Poplar Bluff native