It's time to invest in Adams County

Lamar Braxton

Published Sunday, November 1, 2009

Until now I have sat on the sidelines and observed the many proposed activities for Natchez and Adams County, always weighing the pros and cons, while looking for something that I could take a positive position on and ultimately be willing to use some of my moral capital to promote it to a successful conclusion.

As former chief executive officer of the AJFC Community Action Agency, Inc., I am very well aware of the importance of capital assets to a community. Consequently, I set forth to insure that each county served by the AJFC Community Action Agency Head Start program would have state-of-the-art buildings for its Head Start children. This work can be attested to by the following Head Start Centers, Sadie V. Thompson in Natchez, the centers in Woodville, Centreville, Gloster, Liberty and Fayette, which are valued at more than $11.5 million.

The point I wish to make is, I thought the children and families deserved no less, and if there should be other beneficiaries that would be a bonus.

Which brings me to the issue at hand — recreation facilities for Natchez and Adams County and any other group that may ultimately benefit.

It is time to invest in Adams County for the local residents. I came to Adams County in 1967, and a cursory survey indicates that there has been no significant public capital improvements in the last 45 years. We’ve had no new schools, no new recreation facilities.

Which means, with the exception of a very few, we are all benefiting from the sweat of someone else’s brow.

Adams County residents, it is already late for this generation to leave a landmark for the future. You can change this on Tuesday by voting “yes” for recreation.

Lamar Braxton

CEO-emeritus of AJFC Community Action Agency