Monday, January 18, 2016

Wal Mart Revisited

Today's Town Dock posts an article from 2013 describing the Town Board meeting of October 1, 2013 addressing whether the Town should make water available to the planned Wal-Mart Xpress, to be located outside the Town.

Under North Carolina law, the Town was under no obligation to make the water available.

Here is the article: http://towndock.net/news/oriental-board-approves-water-for-walmart?pg=1

Another article reports public discussion at Town Hall during a September special meeting: http://towndock.net/news/town-board-special-meeting-on-walmart
During that meeting, Oriental Business owners spoke in opposition. Bama Lutes Deal, owner of the restaurant, Village Food Emporium, told the Mayor and Board that if they provide water to Walmart, the town "would be extending a courtesy to something that is a threat to your community. That,” she said, “seems counterproductive to me.”

If a business outside the town limits seeks water service from the Town, Deal said, the Board should first take in to consideration whether that store “would have a negative impact” on the in-town businesses. She suggested the Board had not looked closely at Walmart’s impact and was “missing the point of who it represented.”

Now less than three years later, Wal Mart is leaving town, but not before driving Town and Country and the Town's only pharmacy out of business and leaving the Town a shambles.  It seems we have not even begun assessing the damage.

I have a lot of thoughts about the consequences, but I think it is most important to consider carefully who we elect to our governing body.

I found the meeting of the Town Board held October 1 2013 shocking for a number of reasons. Most shocking is the disdain shown by that board to both the residents and the businesses of the Town.

None of the incumbents should have been reelected. Unfortunately some were and they continued to do damage to the Town's interests.

Too often when governments blunder, some incumbent will proclaim, "we can't undo what happened - let's just look to the future, not the past."

If it really made sense to not look back, we would just leave airplane wreckage on the mountain and send NTSB home. Instead, if we are wise, we see what lessons can be learned, including how to do better in the future.

I'll have more to say about that, but we must start by recognizing that Oriental has been badly served by some elected officials.

Friday, January 15, 2016

Wal-Mart To Close All Wal-Mart Express Stores - After Driving Our Local Grocery Stores Out Of Business

Today's Washington Post reports that Wal-Mart is abandoning its Wal Mart Express concept and closing all Wal-Mart Express stores.

This has been very damaging to Pamlico County's economy.

Let's hear from all those folks who cheered Wal-Mart on, citing all the new jobs and low prices.

Turned out to be a fantasy, but one that has played out for decades in small towns across America.

Some of us saw it coming.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Immigrants Following The Rules - Don't Come Here

Photo of a young Belgian professional couple and their children arriving in Perth, Australia, for a planned two year adventure.



Their first choice was to spend a couple of years in the US. There was no way to make it happen.

Australia's gain is our loss.