A real native son

    There’s no doubt about it. Greg Iles is Natchez’s most famous literary personality. The literati and college profs love to tout Richard Wright. But Wright was never really popular during his lifetime. And his love and love lost for communism won and lost friends, tarnishing his reputation. Few people alive today have actually read Wright’s well-written works.

    Iles has been turning out best sellers for years. Good plots, excellent characters and good descriptive writing are part of his style. His focus on Natchez history and people, comes so close to home that some of the locals have gotten their dander up over his fiction non-fiction approach.

    It’s nice to see a local boy doing well in the Big Time. Greg’s books have also been translated into many languages, recognition that he has a strong audience.

    I received an email from a lady I know in the Ukraine. She wrote, “Do you know Greg Iles of Natchez? I’ve read two of his books.”

 

Persistent unemployment

    With the national and regional economies in trouble, the job picture is still terrible. Southwest Mississippi remains now suffers even higher unemployment rates than usual. Jobless rates vary between 10-15%.

    Depopulation has occurred, meaning many factory workers and better skilled laborers left the area years ago. Adams County alone has lost more than 1000 jobs in just a few years. Nearby Lincoln and Pike Counties have surpassed us in economic activity, with thousands more employed than in Adams. And their retail sales also higher than our local figures.

    I don’t think there’s much that can be done about this disturbing trend, the decline of a rural area. Despite frequent political campaigns saying “We’re going to get jobs,” the opposite has been true.

    The school board’s assertion that funding public education to the max would reap benefits won’t help either. Despite millions more in subsidies, test scores remain miserable. The public schools can’t generate graduates who are literate and can compute. And the grads that have those skills soon leave the area for better paying jobs.

    The long-term future looks dim. Natchez-Adams County still has its historic assets, a healthy medical care environment, a reasonably low crime rate, and low cost of living. But the future for economic growth just isn’t there.

    While the politicians and educators have been talking recruiting new jobs and big homes for high tech, the reality is we’re going in the opposite direction.

    I have no idea how this can be turned around. Any politician who says he or she has the answer…is not telling the truth.

 

 Home, sweet home security

    A few years ago, a near-violent crowd at the Adams County Courthouse led the late Sheriff Brown and Adams County Supervisors to install metal detectors, after weapons were found in the courthouse bathroom.  Supporters of a murderer threatened jurors and created powder-keg atmosphere, which a deputy or two couldn’t have handled.

    The county spent more than $100,000 in security equipment. And staffing costs another $100,000 or so a year. But security is still totally lax. Visitors to the courthouse can simply bypass security as the second set of stairs in the courthouse is not protected, the door to the second floor often unlocked.

And the security guards, simply watch TV eight hours a day when court is not in session.

And everyone walks by them, like they don’t exist. This is a telling example of how government spends your money.

    There’s little security. Too much was and is being spent. The public, judges and courthouse employees are not protected.

    When liberals say “Government needs to get involved,” your answer should be, “And when it does, things only get worse.”