The right choice
Editor, The Commercial:
Citizens of Pine Bluff, the City Council pulled/removed the Go Forward tax ballot approval from the agenda. Miracles never cease. The Pine Bluff Branch NAACP thanks the City Council for listening to the will of the people.
We encourage you for honoring the vote of your constituency. We commend you for refusing to burden the taxpayers anymore following a $1 million embezzlement without a forensic audit.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
We applaud you for honoring your word and listening to the public through three public readings and not suspending the rules and rushing it on the ballot like the last time the tax was defeated. We revere you for attempting to follow Arkansas law and the state constitution regarding the use of taxpayer dollars and the prohibition of cities from appropriating funds for private individuals, entities, organizations or associations — see Attorney General Opinion (2023-025).
Finally, we congratulate you for stopping repeatedly putting the same thing on the ballot wasting $40k taxpayer dollars to administer repeated elections to constantly vote and re-vote until we get the outcome the banks and special interests want instead of what the people want.
Thanks again for doing something in the best interest of the citizens of Pine Bluff.
Ivan Whitfield, president,
Pine Bluff Branch of the NAACP
Vote for millage
Editor, The Commercial:
As we attempt to make our community better for our citizens, we must develop an attitude of “Why not Pine Bluff.” Our elected officials are working on making Pine Bluff and Jefferson County a better place to live to raise our children.
At the top of that list is crime and education. Existing citizens, as well as new, will look to those two issues in order to make the decision to stay in Pine Bluff and place their children in our education system.
Personally, I believe our law enforcement is getting results, and if we are to recruit teachers and families to Pine Bluff, our school facilities will be a big part of their decision-making process.
I am excited to think of what can happen with a new school facility. Pine Bluff will be what we choose it to be. Do we have the vision? I think so. I am extremely impressed with how our citizens have taken the bull by the horns to take back our schools. We are dealing with the tough decisions and our new superintendent is doing a fantastic job tackling the issues.
I believe that the proposed millage tax is the right answer at the right time. To build a better Pine Bluff, it begins with our children.
This millage tax will deal with the issues of security and provide a positive environment to learn.
I hope you will join my wife and me on Aug. 8th, and vote yes, to giving our students the opportunities they deserve.
Tommy May,
Pine Bluff
Come on, GFPB!
Editor, The Commercial:
When exactly can enough be enough? Not yet!
And now we have similar despondency to GFPB (Go Forward Pine Bluff) occurring with the vote on the proposed new school. Does it make you wonder who might have their fingers crossed behind their back when making critical declarations about a position on the tax referendums?
What we know for sure is we have a dwindling population in a city voted #1 for being “Most Miserable.” Just Great! For clarification, similarities of the top 10 cities in this unsolicited competition is — endless blight and a poverty level nearing 30% of its population.
So what plan does our leadership present to make us forever a “Happy Place”? Afraid a Go-Kart track or movie theater funded by your tax dollars aren’t going to address either.
GFPB leadership has challenged the belief that there has been no income generated from the millions it has invested/spent. In their efforts to get religion and be transparent (more?), have they ever disclosed exactly how much return the city has made on these millions? We can make at least .05% on our money just sitting at a bank, or if invested in Treasuries, something like 100 times more than that.
Now, back to the movies. How many years ago did we have multiple theaters? Covid can be blamed, but it only made their demise official.
And on the city owning a theater — I’m afraid the couple carloads headed to theaters in Monticello or Little Rock does not sustain a viable theater business and will also compete with the weekly couple carload of Go-Kart dollars. Think it can? What’s your vote?
For another refresher — “socialism is a political philosophy and movement encompassing a wide range of economic and social systems which are characterized by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to capitalism — private ownership.” Which way are we leaning?
On a somber note, but with a touch of reality and hopefully a wake-up call, we all are faced with end-of-life decisions. Now, back to the case at hand — do we prolong the inevitable by spending millions again to sustain old dilapidated buildings, or preferably, decide where we go from here for a bigger, better tomorrow?
Pine Bluff is home to only 1 of something like 5 remaining early era theaters out of several hundred initially built. Apparently others got it figured out in time. Come on Pine Bluff!
Did we just wake up to blight, crime, dwindling population? Nope! And with GFPB’s questionable transparency and credibility from alleged fund improprieties and questionable spending, they for sure are not the answer.
How many football coaches has UAPB had in the past 10-15 years? Don’t recall any having been dismissed for lack of effort. The name of the game is — Just Win Baby! Why do we need someone with a PhD. to figure out from which pocket to spend our money? Remind you of the old shell game? Oh! Guess we have seen a casualty or two having not figured that one out, that’s why.
Is our vision one of a sustainable economy with continuous job growth (capitalism) or one tying an anchor to our leg called higher taxes for years to come? Let’s right the ship for a better tomorrow and end the ongoing expenses associated with GFPB and set our sights on a new, sustainable vision.
Mike Lankford,
Pine Bluff