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Tuesday, August 30, 2011 By Jessi Collier
Advertising
The area we live in is a great place. We have friendly people, a college campus that rivals any in the country and a pretty safe, low-crime community. The only downfall of this great place is a lack of livelihood.
There’s a lot that we could do that would be beneficial to this community.
I’ve noticed that we have a lot of open space in the county, but there’s nothing filling it. Commercial developments would make Oktibbeha better. There are plenty of people who live in the county that would love to not have to travel miles into town just to eat or run simple errands.
A branded medical facility is something we could desperately use. An example of this would be Baptist Memorial Hospital in Columbus, which belongs to Baptist Health Services Group (BHSG), which is a subsidiary of Baptist Memorial Health Care. Our modest county hospital would have bigger and better facilities, more doctors that specialize in different areas, faster service and ambulances and more jobs.
As for bringing in tourism dollars, my idea is quite simple: festivals. It brings people by the droves and money by the pounds.
A theme park or water park would be a smart move here. There are only four water parks in the state of Miss., and none of them are in northern half of the state.
An entertainment complex would also be incredible for us. It brings in a crowd on game days and it gives us locals something to do. A convention center would be good too. We might finally become a concert stop for some amazing tours if we actually had a place to hold a concert. It doubles as a meeting place for local organizations and would be a great place for receptions and special occasions.
And my final, most important point: a mall. Let’s liven the place up -- make it a beautiful place I know it to be. More book stores, trendy adult clothing stores, and family venues should be placed throughout our town.
We need things to do in Starkville. There’s no disputing that fact. Whatever we put here will generate good economy, put people back to work and add some color to this town. We should all be working to make a better Starkville.
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