VIDALIA &045;&045; Community leaders from both sides of the river attempted to begin building another bridge Thursday as they met for an economic development conference in Vidalia.

Leaders from Concordia, Tensas and Catahoula parishes joined officials from Natchez and surrounding areas for a luncheon and discussion at the Comfort Suites hotel.

Concordia Economic Development Director Teresa Dennis, who organized the event, said she hopes the meeting will spark more discussions of a regional effort toward economic development.

&uot;If we’re going to do anything different, we’re going to have to start with us,&uot; Dennis said.

The idea of a regional effort grew out of a recent meeting of the mayors of Ferriday, Vidalia and Natchez.

&uot;The only way we can do economic development is if we talk about community development,&uot; Ferriday Mayor Gene Allen said.

Thursday’s discussion included some honest talk about what is holding the area back.

&uot;We’re territorial,&uot; said Glen McGlothin, marketing director for the city of Vidalia and a former Ferriday mayor. &uot;We ought to be as happy about something happening in Natchez as we are in the parish. We’ve got to forget about the river.&uot;

Natchez-Adams Economic Development Authority Director Mike Ferdinand noted that Mississippi and Alabama have a cooperative agreement to work on economic development opportunities in communities that share a border between the two states.

&uot;Right now, we don’t have that structure,&uot; he said.

Dennis said she hopes labor statistics, which are now kept in different ways for both states, might be provided in the same manner, making it easier for the communities to share information.

&uot;We’re hoping from this meeting we can have a labor study done on the area,&uot; she said.

The group also discussed assets that the communities in the area share &045;&045; and how they can work together.

Natchez-Adams School Board President Norris Edney noted schools should come together to share their resources as well.

&uot;Everyone who comes here asks, ‘What about the school system?’&uot; he said.

Vidalia city attorney Jack McLemore said officials could look at new ways to use resources, especially as it relates to agriculture.

&uot;We need to get our head out of the sand and quit thinking like we did in the ’60s,&uot; he said.

Judith Bingham, director of the Delta Music Museum in Ferriday, said both sides of the river should collaborate on tourism efforts.

&uot;We could be more cooperative in setting up a council for tourism for all counties and parishes&uot; in the area, she said.

Most at the meeting agreed they would have to get the states’ and perhaps even the federal government’s help in drafting more formal agreements.

&uot;Our biggest barrier is getting the states to allow us to work together,&uot; said Tony Byrne, a former Natchez mayor.

Cooperation could come in pooling grant money or merging federal designations that attract such funding, participants said.