Citizens join effort to help grow town

Having written a newspaper column for over 35 years now, I long ago ceased to be surprised by the comments we receive - both good a bad.

But I was pleasantly surprised this week by the response from residents seeking answers to a simple question I posed last week.

By way of background, I am puzzled that Sikeston's population has declined in every census since 1980 despite some substantial growth and progress that you would otherwise assume would boost our population.

I don't want to be repetitive but taking an honest assessment of our community's apparent growth in the last decade alone would seem to suggest our population is on the rise.

But that's simply not the case.

So readers in substantial numbers are providing their own answer to the population decline and, more importantly, potential solutions to reverse this trend.

Now honestly, some suggestions - though well intended - are unrealistic.

Bringing a new retail shopping mall comparable to Cape Girardeau - as suggested by some - would be a grand idea. But malls survive on numbers of shoppers and our community and surrounding area lack the population to support a new mall here.

And, yes, it would be nice to have a major retailer, i.e. Dillard's or Target, but those national chains look at population and retail sales to drive their location decisions.

What they want, we ain't got!

Several calls, letters and comments all suggested that a new industry here would bring jobs and added population gains.

That is obviously true.

But you also have to remember that the competition for industry is extremely intense and though our local utility rates and central location work to our benefit, other communities are just as aggressive.

Paducah, Ky., Dyersburg, Tenn., Jonesboro, Ark., and countless others in our region are just as active in wooing industry so the task is formidable.

Some have suggested the lack of "entertainment" outlets for all ages is one potential reason why our population is declining.

None of these answers are wrong. In fact, they are all probably pieces in the puzzle and combined, they may actually be part of the solution.

Last week's column was an attempt to start a dialogue on ways to improve our community.

And what is extremely important is that we - the citizens of Sikeston - raise our voices to find a solution. We cannot and should not believe that city government alone can address all of our needs.

To paraphrase Ms. Clinton, maybe it takes a community to grow a community.

Declining population does not occur overnight and rebuilding our corner of the world will not occur overnight.

But the process begins with engaged citizens.

We have over 16,000 residents and perhaps there may be 16,000 suggestions on how to address this issue.

But rest assured, there is an answer and there is a solution. And the search for these missing puzzle pieces should start today.