Is Evansville Determined to Follow the Destructive Path of Failed Cities?
“We have transformed Evansville and I have put it on a path to success” –Quote by Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel
The Toughest Job in Evansville has to be Editor of the “Evansville Business Magazine!”
Our Civic leaders, are celebrating the announcement of two, “Dollars Stores,” which will soon be built in Evansville.—-This is not good news, it is bad news! Because, “Dollar Stores” follow the economies of the cities that are on the demise. Recently, at Eastland Mall, one of the largest department store manager’s asked me “where are the people?” I told him to go to Walmart, Target, Dollar Store and you will see the economy of Evansville.
Several years ago, I could see our demise and future as I traveled the East Coast, I visited cities like Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Wilmington, Newark and on and on! Upon my return, I would tell my wife, I have just seen the future of Evansville, it is bleak and evitable.
The East Coast cities tried to save themselves by promoting internal civic projects, which cost their industries even more dollars. Between high labor cost, taxes, utilities, high transportation costs, these businesses one by one left these cities. In our paper,— Mead Johnson announces another 50 high paying jobs will be leaving Evansville. It sort of reminds me of my employer, who once had 5 production plants, 7 warehouses and their Consumer Affairs and refrigeration headquarters in Evansville. Little by little, they left. —warnings to the local unions and to the city, were ignored. The same warnings by Chrysler, Bucyrus Erie, and those who made us the furniture capitol of the world and the refrigeration capitol of the world, meat packers, bakeries, bottlers, beer producers, etc., etc., etc., they all left.
Today, we try to save our economies by building schools for a declining student population and building an arena which most of the people opposed. We keep adding public construction jobs as if they will save our economy. We close our eyes at the logistical and engineering blunder of the arena and downtown hotel. We even pretend the use of the arena is for basketball. And in a panic, we celebrate at the artist’s rendering of a replacement hotel that looks more like it belongs next to a Cracker Barrel Restaurant, instead of a grand downtown hotel. We are rapidly being conditioned to expect less!
We are slowly delegating ourselves to bottom fishing and being content when someone pulls up a carp for dinner.—When did we lose our pride? The pride, which was once Evansville? Perhaps, it was something as simple as when we let the unique Mesker Merry-go-Round leave town, or the UE basketball team, which seems to lose every year!— or when we lost our National Weather Bureau.– I think of the weather station leaving each day, when I see the report out of Paducah or listen to one of the “Weather Channel” reporters refer to us as Evansville, Illinois. Meanwhile, we wait for the next economic shoe to drop and wonder. — Which abandoned strip mall will house the next “Dollar Store!”
Bill Hazelip
A real and very sobering perspective Mr. Hazelip.
I would like to believe that the next few years will see the population more aware of the importance of the Primary election if meaninful change is to occur. We need better choices in the General election.
Its amazing how we all just expect Government to do the work yet people at the same time are complaining to reduce government. Cant have it both ways. You cant expect government to step out of the way all the while expecting YOUR vote to count towards making change possible.
What I have been saying – 25 per cent of our local population lives in poverty. You start with the 11,000 of the 22,000 students enrolled in the E-VSC and mutiply that times 1.5 to get the total family unit — that is 16,500 residents. You figure about 18 per cent unemployment of a work force in the range of 70,000. Then you add all the senior citizens on fixed income. There you go. You come with a figure right around 30,000 which is about 25 per cent of the 112,000 population of the city of Evansville.
The people who make the resource allocation decisions in this community have turned their backs on the poor. They no longer see that they have any obligation at all to employ these people as long as there is such an elaborate social service network providing welfare, food stamps, housing subsidies, Supplemental Security Income, Disability, Medi-Caid and all the other transfer payments that are extended to these people.
The above number does not include the over 500 residents of the Vanderburgh County jail — a number which is only expected to increase as time goes on. Just yesterday, Judge Niemeier told the county council there are over 300 children in need of services in Vanderburgh County (battered children or those who have been abandoned) they not know what to do with, and Prosecutor Nick Hermann said there is a backlog of over 22,000 child support payment cases outstanding carried over from Levco’s term.
These are not statistics that any honest, decent concerned citizenas within this community should be proud of. But those who have the capacity to make a difference for some reason do not acknowledge that these people exist in our community. Out of sight, out of mind seems to be the main idea, until they come and break into your house and start stealing things.
From a journalistic perspective, look at how irresponsible this interview was… “how are you”, “How are you”, “yesterday was very busy”, “You’ve had a busy couple days”.
This 5+ minute interview in the middle of a major scandal with GAGE theft, furor over Boozed out Christmas gatherings on his watch, after failed baseball plans were rejected, etc.
Uh, Lauren, you never even told us viewers what you mean by “busy couple days”, that you mentioned twice! The toughest question you were able to muster was “What would you do different”? If you would have stopped giggling and smiling as if you were sitting with royalty you might have been able to get in a serious question. Shameful.
I think Bill is right, and in my view, this type of – NAIVE, LOVE FEST – on the TV is what deadens our ability to honestly view the destruction that is before our very eyes.
(http://tristatehomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=232766)
http://okc.about.com/od/citygovernment/a/okcmaps3.htm
http://www.okc.gov/MAPS/index.html
Even though OK is a very red conservative state, they have taken to MAPS I, II, and III quite nicely… Check out the enthusiasm on their boards: http://okctalk.com/ .
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