“One of the 20 poorest counties in the whole United States!” (I really can’t believe that.) On top of that, according to Mr. McDonald of the Conservatives of Pickens County, “The problem with this county is that they do not know what a conservative is.”

So we are poor and we are stupid.

How about this? Move out of the bottom twenty. How? Build good schools. Attract new jobs. Demand that our elected officials participate in moving our standard of living higher and stop being driven by the negative drumbeat of The Conservatives of Pickens and The Pickens County Taxpayers Association.

Oh! We are building new schools and a new company just announced it was moving to our Industrial Park and bringing 40 good paying jobs. Over their strong objections. So I ask you? Who is right? They fought the new Industrial Park. They fought the new schools.

This is a quote from a company moving into a neighboring county, “We like the labor pool that’s available. We like working with the various agencies there.”

It appears that we are beginning to get in that same category. We should applaud our officials and encourage them to continue this progress.

It would be helpful to them, I am sure, if some of the negativism could stop. The new schools are being built. Why continue to beat that to death? Get over it and let’s move forward.

Also, can all the members of the school board be wrong and only Alex right. He is by himself on every issue. It’s not likely the entire rest of the board is wrong on every issue. Why can’t there be some accommodation that presents a better picture of our beloved county? If I was on the other side 100 percent of the time, I think I would start to evaluate my positions. I would stop using terms that drive a wedge between people. Like “out of county people.”

Clarence C. Gibson

Pickens