Status quo vs. Competent Leadership
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There are elected officials
from the local community to Washington, D.C. who foolishly believe that if they
maintain the status quo that they exercising real leadership and that no voter
would dare not return them to another term in their present position. Dream on,
brother! Time is running out for this kind of reasoning. The world has changed
and the status quo can’t compete. Though many changes are bad, others are
changes that can’t be ignored, and will not be ignored by people of wisdom.
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There
was a time, for example, when Macon County had a population of 12,000 people,
but today there are approximately 22,000 living in the county. There was also a
time when the school population of Macon County was 1600, but today there are
about 3800 students being served by the Macon County school system. When
Macon’s schools grow by about 100 more students per year, and the school system
has operated on the same budget for four straight years, it doesn’t take a
rocket scientist to figure out the difficulty involved in operating the school
system.
While
other departments in the county are buying 30 to 40 thousand dollar trucks with
four doors, the Macon School System is buying a 10 thousand dollar used truck
with two doors for its maintenance department. This is not jealousy, but simply
a wish that others would be more careful in their expenditures and that the
children of Macon County would claim a larger share of the county’s revenue.
Macon County has one of the top school systems in the Upper Cumberland and it
must not be ignored by those who think that the status quo is good government.
I’m
glad to see there are those in Macon County who are reaching for the stars by
exhibiting real leadership in their attempts to support every phase of Macon
County life. What a great place to live, and what potential is locked up in the
minds of her younger citizens. At least they’ve not locked up the future and
thrown the keys away. This is what the status quo mentality has done. Granted,
there are imperfections in almost every aspect of county life, but holding the
line doesn’t make for a better future for Macon’s youth. I salute Marcus Smith
and the Macon County Chamber of Commerce for their efforts to grow our county.
Tony
Ferguson in Red Boiling Springs has worked hard and his business, Performance
Feed, is spreading throughout the South. Thanks, Tony, for providing many jobs
and for your great ability in helping the fine RBS High FFA group.
And
thanks, John Cook, for your continued efforts to bring a second industry to RBS
and Macon County. I pray the Call Center will become a reality and hundreds of
people will be able to get jobs.
These
men dreamed and worked hard—no status quo in them. May the rest of us do the
same.