Not-in-my-backyard attitude sends jobs elsewhere

Published 12:00 am Saturday, April 30, 2005

No way, no how, not a chance, not in my backyard. Have you ever heard someone utter those phrases?

Usually, those words are rooted deep in emotion and not much logic.

Few issues in life are as clear-cut as "no way, no how" with the exception of some criminal and moral issues.

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That said, almost any kind of change - or discussion of potential change - is often greeted by at least a handful of naysayers who are bent on keeping the proverbial bar squarely affixed to the status quo.

At least two examples of this behavior have materialized in our community in recent days and weeks.

First, a small group of residents have come unglued over plans to build a new $3 million solid waste transfer station and recycling center in Hamilton Township.

The group's first argument seemed to be that the land was far too valuable to "waste it" on the creation of the facility. The land would be far more valuable for industrial purposes, they said.

Excuse me, but I must have missed the scores of businesses lined up along County Road 1A encircling Duke Energy and Dow Chemical. While our community obviously needs to be careful in how we use our lands, the fact is the new transfer station and recycling center is a new industry. Is it a traditional smokestack industry? No. In all honesty, it's probably better than a smokestack. It's a relatively small business that doesn't appear to pollute the environment.

Never mind that Rumpke Consolidated Industries estimates the facility will move 10 jobs from Kentucky to the site and expect an additional 30 jobs to be created in the first three years of the new site.

No way, no how, not a chance will we put up with that economic nonsense. We'll wait for something better, the naysayers say.

No sooner than that issue had settled a bit, the Lawrence County Commission made an across-the-board mandate. No way, no how, not a chance.

The issue was the possibility that the Dennis J. Boll Group and Shelter Home might consider moving into a portion of the former River Valley Health Systems building, currently owned by Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital.

The group home is seeking a new location to make way for a potential hotel development. Some naysayers already doubt whether or not the hotel deal will materialize.

Even if it doesn't, the area near the intersection of U.S. 52 and Ohio 93 is a great location for something. It doesn't matter if that "something" is a hotel, retail or medical development. It's an ideal spot for new development.

The apparent problem is that the notion of putting the former RVHS building back into use seems to have been shot down before it ever got off the ground.

Why that occurred isn't easy to explain.

Not unlike the Rumpke site in Hamilton Township, the RVHS building doesn't appear to have truckloads of suitors lining up to revitalize the site. And there are a handful of residents who don't want the group home in their neighborhood.

Is this an attempt to punish OLBH for some past perceived wrongs? If so, the community needs to be a bit more forgiving. While OLBH has made some decisions that upset many in the community, having the RVHS building continue to sit idle does none of us any good. Can we at some point bury our hatchets regarding the old hospital and get on with building the community?

Was the possibility of moving the group home into the former hospital the best option? We may never know because a small, select group has decided: "No way, no how, not a chance."

Lots of folks say the county struggles to grow economically because "those" people do not allow it.

Could it be "those" people might really be the person looking back from the mirror?

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Ironton Tribune. He can be reached at (740) 532-1445, ext. 12 or by e-mail to kevin.cooper@irontontribune.com.