For sale: Those two words reverberated across the Miss-Lou this week as news spread of International Paper’s plans for its Natchez mill. The news –&160;a shock to some people, confirmation of suspicions for others — affects all our lives.

For 50 years, IP’s Natchez mill has been a dominating community presence. Adams County’s largest employer at 750 employees, it dominates the workforce, providing by its own records $32 million in payroll each year. More important, the company and its employees contributed hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to community projects and efforts throughout the Miss-Lou each year.

The thought of losing IP as a corporate citizen is understandably disturbing to many people, from government leaders to service agency directors.

But the challenge lies in what to do next.

Natchez and Adams County’s economic development efforts have floundered for more than a year now without a full-time director. Under the hampering shadow of debate over the agency’s future — from the structure of its governing board to the sources of its funding — the staff has continued to be productive. Yet, we cannot expect a superior economic development effort — the sort which brings major new businesses and hundreds of jobs to our community — without professional, focused and committed leadership.

Natchez’s new mayor campaigned on a platform of bringing a new plant, or new jobs, to Natchez. The newest county supervisors spent more than a week on a statewide trip in search of industry and jobs … and any coffee table gathering in downtown Natchez usually includes at least one conversation about the need for more jobs.

It’s time that we stop talking and charging ahead in all our different directions. We need a professional economic development agency leader; we need a plan; we need committed funding; and we need economic growth.

IP’s announcement this week is a jarring wake-up call, a reminder that we can no longer afford to &uot;talk&uot; about economic development.

We need to make economic development happen.