The only way to get where you’re going is step-by-step, one foot at a time.

And that seems to be exactly what Natchez is doing.

In the days of IP and Johns-Manville folks in Adams County felt a little more comfortable. The area had good paying jobs, thriving industry and a decent outlook on the future.

But with IP’s departure in 2001 the comfort seemed over. The years since that time were rough in spots, but the community has survived.

Plans are floating for future industries, Delta Biofuels is up and running and new hotels are being built all around us.

Now, one of the local industries that struggled in the times just after the IP closure seems to have come back, step-by-step.

DynaSteel Corp. CEO Jim Russell said Wednesday that his company now employs 163 people and wants 50 more.

The steel fabrication plant lost steam after the national demand for the product slowed a few years back. The 60 employees on board at the time eventually lost their jobs, and the company struggled financially.

Now, the national demand is back up and the future is bright.

Russell stuck it out through the tough times and now Natchez has him to thank.

We are glad to see his company on its feet again, and it is those feet that will take us another step into the future.