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Lord, this has been talked about before...nonetheless, it bears repeating:

1. better jobs....better means jobs that are higher-skilled type. What is NOT needed are jobs such as: burger flipper, hotel cleaning person, "sales associate" aka cash register operator, caddies, etc.

2. better schools...then again, Alabama in general has Miss. and Louisiana to thank for not being at the bottom of the barrel as far as school rankings...

3. Merge Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, Tuscumbia, and Florence into one municipality....you either stand together and succeed or stay apart and fail...so far, all 4 have faired worse. Perhaps this is what is needed. Of course, #4 will have to happen FIRST..

4. Get rid of the bickering and fighting and rivalry between Colbert-Lauderdale counties and work together as a team or have the 4 cities mentioned previously merged into a metro area.

5. Better management by city and county governments.

6. When the "Beaver Cleavers" that still live in the 50's and 60's die off, then I see more progress coming..

7. DITCH the "retirement community" mentality...that tells young people who are starting out "you are not welcome here."

8. DITCH "tourist attraction" mentality. Nobody comes to the Shooowwlls to see the likes of Ivy Green..that is a good 4th grade field trip (and the last time I might add I visited was in 1982 when I was in 4th grade).

9. DITCH Bass Pro Shop idea...not feasible...TUNA study said that..

10. Be more friendly to college kids...give them something to do...or face it: TUNA will always be second fiddle to bigger schools if nothing changes for the better.

11. Last but not least: Shoals, esp. Russelville needs an illegal alien roundup, deportation to follow immediately, ASAP.

Those are just a few of many.....I am sure others have more ideas, and some of the same ideas that I didn't list.
BRENTENMAN!

Gosh darn, I thought I didn't agree with you on ANYthing! (Which is okay, just a difference of opinions and perspectives.) But now, with this list, I see that 9 out of 11 of these points you make ABSOLUTELY reflect my own views! No need to go into which specific ones, but I think our mutual consensus despite our VERY different perspectives in general suggest that the people of the Shoals - despite their differences - are likely in agreement with the changes we want and need. The next question: What do we do to make this happen? I wish I knew. Voting is definitely one way, yet there must be others.
I agree with most of what you said Brentenman. I do think, however, that the Shoals area could be a tourist destination. The new hotel (which is absolutely amazing, and we should be really proud of it) and golf course, along with the beautiful lake and river should be the focus of any campaign to bring in tourists.

We MUST get rid of this retirement community crap. To that end, we should really cater to the UNA students, and give them fun stuff to do. I really wish that UNA offered more graduate programs, maybe even some professional programs, like pharmacy or law. Those students are the ones who are the most mature and who are closest to making a decision on where to work and live. If we had lots of graduate students, and maybe some jobs for them, we could showcase the area while they are in grad school and then they might choose to live here.
Good job Brentenman. you may want to consider at least one more:
> Get rid of the "stoplight at every corner" mentality. Learn the concept of entrance and exit ramps on new roads, and believe it or not , there is something called an overpass.

Hard to attract an industrial base if trucks must endure what passes for routes to their factories.
quote:
Originally posted by Brentenman:
Lord, this has been talked about before...nonetheless, it bears repeating:

1. better jobs....better means jobs that are higher-skilled type. What is NOT needed are jobs such as: burger flipper, hotel cleaning person, "sales associate" aka cash register operator, caddies, etc.

2. better schools...then again, Alabama in general has Miss. and Louisiana to thank for not being at the bottom of the barrel as far as school rankings...

3. Merge Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, Tuscumbia, and Florence into one municipality....you either stand together and succeed or stay apart and fail...so far, all 4 have faired worse. Perhaps this is what is needed. Of course, #4 will have to happen FIRST..

4. Get rid of the bickering and fighting and rivalry between Colbert-Lauderdale counties and work together as a team or have the 4 cities mentioned previously merged into a metro area.

5. Better management by city and county governments.

6. When the "Beaver Cleavers" that still live in the 50's and 60's die off, then I see more progress coming..

7. DITCH the "retirement community" mentality...that tells young people who are starting out "you are not welcome here."

8. DITCH "tourist attraction" mentality. Nobody comes to the Shooowwlls to see the likes of Ivy Green..that is a good 4th grade field trip (and the last time I might add I visited was in 1982 when I was in 4th grade).

9. DITCH Bass Pro Shop idea...not feasible...TUNA study said that..

10. Be more friendly to college kids...give them something to do...or face it: TUNA will always be second fiddle to bigger schools if nothing changes for the better.

11. Last but not least: Shoals, esp. Russelville needs an illegal alien roundup, deportation to follow immediately, ASAP.

Those are just a few of many.....I am sure others have more ideas, and some of the same ideas that I didn't list.


GREAT points Brent.. I agree... Smiler
Last year I drove home going through Flo Blvd, across O'Neal Bridge, Hatch Blvd into Muscle Shoals. I counted over 30(!!!) Title for Cash stores. I think this is very indictative of the economic climate in the Shoals.

I totally agree with Brent and with Brakefield. The schools here must improve for the sake of our community's longevity. UNA (my alma mater) turns out hundreds of teachers and business majors and not much else. I think it definitely needs some sort of professional school to attract the type of education-minded student that we need here in the Shoals. I think a Pharmacy or Physical Therapy School would be great, maybe even an Engineering school. The Shoals should rally behind UNA and encourage the Trustees and Administration to not accept the status quo, but be proactive and always think 5-10 years ahead of the game. My husband is an AU grad and jokes about not being able to drive down Pine Street without a diploma being thrown at him.
I would like to see technology embraced in this area. I have personally offered numerous services (mostly of a wireless nature) to all 4 municipalities, Chamber and dozens of local businesses (including the 'major' hotels) only to be told that "we just don't see how this will help people." for FREE even....giving it away...just because I can.

Just like 10 years ago while working as a salesperson for a regional data provider when I was proposing the idea of Internet banking to ALL of the local banks and was told, "we just don't see where this computer banking stuff will ever be helpful to our customers. It's just a fad anyway." (I swear that is a direct quote from the President of a local bank....and agreed on by the entire Board of Directors! They wouldn't even register their banks namesake domain.....www.whateverbank.com)

So goes the problems of this area.
quote:
Originally posted by mandomama:
Last year I drove home going through Flo Blvd, across O'Neal Bridge, Hatch Blvd into Muscle Shoals. I counted over 30(!!!) Title for Cash stores. I think this is very indictative of the economic climate in the Shoals.

I totally agree with Brent and with Brakefield. The schools here must improve for the sake of our community's longevity. UNA (my alma mater) turns out hundreds of teachers and business majors and not much else. I think it definitely needs some sort of professional school to attract the type of education-minded student that we need here in the Shoals. I think a Pharmacy or Physical Therapy School would be great, maybe even an Engineering school. The Shoals should rally behind UNA and encourage the Trustees and Administration to not accept the status quo, but be proactive and always think 5-10 years ahead of the game. My husband is an AU grad and jokes about not being able to drive down Pine Street without a diploma being thrown at him.


It is sad to say, but this is a GREAT point!!!! Convenience stores, check cashing places, Cash in advance places... THAT are the places that are hiring, and making boat loads of money off our not so fortunate people of the Shoals.... and no one seems to think anything is wrong with this picture!!!

Personally, I would rather see manufacturing plants on every street in our towns, MORE JOBS, BETTER JOBS... anf forget the stupid issues, like "your sign isn't pretty enough"... gimme a break, to heck with that when we need JOBS!!!
I agree also with Brentman....

As a 24 year old, this area does fall short with entertainment/things to do for our age group. The good clubs/bars around here are always packed full because there isn't many other options. In Muscle Shoals, especially.

It was alright, growing up here, I went skating all the time, even worked there, but just having a skating rink and a couple of not so awesome clubs, there's really nothing else to do around here.

The retirement stigma has been around for a long time too.

The only other thing I'd change, is somehow figure out how to bring the Lottery into this state. That would benefit our schools and keep some of the money here to be used locally instead of going across the state line. Smiler

~Manda~
Manda:

Do what I did when I was starting out in life: MOVE. There is a HUGE world outthere with opportunities, large and small. It is there for you to discover.....

What irked me when I was 15-10 years younger in my late teens-early twenties was the "oh, I gotta get married before I am an old maid at 22.." mentality. Before you get married, get out, explore. Then, settle down or you will regret it later.

The Shoals is nice, yes...but there is better. Hopefully someone or some group will come along and make the Shoals better for us all.
I'm already married... Got married at the Ren. Faire in Florence in '03, and in '05 had my son Smiler

We've already got our roots here, so to speak, but if hubby got a job out of state, I'd gladly go. Right now as it is, we don't have the money to move, and in fact as embarrassing as it might be, we are staying with my mom due to our finances. Not a lot of great jobs around here right now. *sigh*

I do agree with you though, for most young people I'd say that would be the best plan of action. Just didn't feel right to me. Wink Big Grin

I plan on in the next year or two going back to school, and maybe trying out for American Idol too, so who knows what the future holds in store. Big Grin

Thank you for your reply.

~Manda~
I didnt get married until age 32...for the first and last time.

Would have liked to have gotten married earlier, but:

1. I didn't have a HS sweetheart

2. I concentrated on getting a degree, not an MRS Degree, while in college

3. I got sent to Oklahaoma and Alaska as my first 2 duty stations...not the best places to meet quality females....Alaska is a good playground if you like hunting, plus military duty had you busy..and the males outnumber females in all the places. Oklahoma...LONG story there...no wonder it has the highest divorce rate, what with the thievery that goes on there.

4. When I got to Savannah....I married the daughter of a judge/lawyer..and who was more educated than me. So, I guess it evens out.

5. I wanted to see the world, the U.S., etc. before I got tied down....and when I got back from Iraq, my wife had the web spun and with me stunned and in vertigo, she caught me....
quote:
Originally posted by M9Beretta:
6. When the "Beaver Cleavers" that still live in the 50's and 60's die off, then I see more progress coming..

LOL...man for man, woman for woman, I'll take the Cleavers any day.

Must be an Auburn graduate.


I think what brentenman meant was that people who are afraid of progress are hindering this area.

Also, to the person who mentioned getting the lottery in this state, I wholeheartedly agree. I'd also vote for any casino gambling measures that came up.

The draft beer proposal needs to pass, as well as Sunday sales should be allowed in all areas of the Shoals.
quote:
Originally posted by brakefield20032003:
I agree with most of what you said Brentenman. I do think, however, that the Shoals area could be a tourist destination. The new hotel (which is absolutely amazing, and we should be really proud of it) and golf course, along with the beautiful lake and river should be the focus of any campaign to bring in tourists.

We MUST get rid of this retirement community crap. To that end, we should really cater to the UNA students, and give them fun stuff to do. I really wish that UNA offered more graduate programs, maybe even some professional programs, like pharmacy or law. Those students are the ones who are the most mature and who are closest to making a decision on where to work and live. If we had lots of graduate students, and maybe some jobs for them, we could showcase the area while they are in grad school and then they might choose to live here.


AMEN! You've nailed it!
quote:
Originally posted by bluesmann:
What changes in the Shoals would you like to see? Better entertainment, better jobs, better schools, better roads, etc. If you were in charged what would you do different? And how would you do it.


Colbert County needs to incorporate Tuscumbia, Muscle Shoals, and Sheffield. They would be so much better off. And if I was God, I would bring back Buford Pusser to close all the illegal drug stores, if you get my drift. Then I would ask Buford if he would start working on corporate crime in this area. You asked a good question but you've got to remember, you live in a conservative town, not to say to be a little conservative is bad, but the people that's far right conservative don't like change. So don't look for this town to change any time soon. You keep putting in the same politicians until they retire.
I agree with Brentenman's points and would like to add one: ABOLISH SEDA and fire FORREST (WRONG) WRIGHT! This organizations failure is so obvious I don't even think I need to point it out! Other than RSA in the past 10 years THE ONLY company SEDA has brought to the area is Walgreens Call Center with a 2 million dollar incentive for $8.00 an hour jobs for 200 positions at taxpayer expense. All in the meanwhile on a budget of something like 500K a year! THE DOG BARKS
quote:
Originally posted by MADDOG 20/20:
I agree with Brentenman's points and would like to add one: ABOLISH SEDA and fire FORREST (WRONG) WRIGHT! This organizations failure is so obvious I don't even think I need to point it out! Other than RSA in the past 10 years THE ONLY company SEDA has brought to the area is Walgreens Call Center with a 2 million dollar incentive for $8.00 an hour jobs for 200 positions at taxpayer expense. All in the meanwhile on a budget of something like 500K a year! THE DOG BARKS


GREAT points here... everything going on right now is to the Politicians pleasure, and the voters can just jump in the TN River... we have to get all that stopped... and we can.
quote:
alacharger
Small Talker

Posted 20 January 2007 03:56 PM Hide Post
Get some solid industry in here. Get everybody out of the "great place to retire" mentality

Just one last "jab" and it pertains to this mentality, I agree and one of the signs I saw at the rally on the steps of the Lauderdale County Courthouse that Bobby Irons conveniently forgot a few weeks ago when he asked where was the Shoals Enviromental Alliance 4 years ago when the RSA deal was being backroom bargained said: ALL THESE GOLF COURSES WILL MAKE GREAT CEMETARIES ONE DAY! THE DOG
We can't have Buford close down all the drug dealers and coke houses. If that happened, then the police dept would not have any revenue. They finally closed the club at Jarman lane. Big deal. It's been there ever since I can remember. But a certain law enforcer needed some on air time so he did it. It's about looking good not doing the right thing.

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