Ruralite Cafe: Published 01/10/02

By Lisa Majors-Duff - News Editor

Planning for the future takes time commitment

Take for example tomorrow's menu here at the Ruralite Cafe. It would be nice to walk in at 5:30 a.m., open the freezer and declare that Chicken Pot Pie will be the day's Blue Plate Special without having to take the time to call the food distributor and order chicken, peas and carrots.

But that's not the way it works in the real world. A meal as extraordinarily hearty (especially at this time of year) as Chicken Pot Pie takes planning, not to mention a chef of the highest caliber to read and follow a tried-and-true recipe, ensuring a light, flaky crust that melts in the customer's mouth.

When government decides to plan for the future of a town, a county or a country, the process is not all that much different. It might take more time to develop the recipe for how best to manage thousands of acres than it does to pluck a chicken clean and turn it into a meal, but the intended results are the same - a desire to satisfy the customer.

As of this writing, the governments of both Jackson County and the Village of Forest Hills are in about the same place as far as planning for the future is concerned. Actually, Forest Hills' town fathers may be a shade farther down the planning road because they have fewer acres to be concerned about, they have fewer customers to please, and they are basically clear on what they want their small town to look like when they are finished.

Jackson County, whose planning task force will meet at 6 p.m. tonight at the Justice Center to continue its discussion of the future, may have more acres to think about, more people to please and a vision yet to be fully focused, but that doesn't mean their task is impossible. They are aided by the fact that they possess a rough draft of the county's recipe for success, which was written by the very customers they are charged with pleasing.

If you'll remember, those most interested in the future of Jackson County attended "Smart Growth" meetings last year and answered two questions: "What do you want to see changed about Jackson County?" and "What do you want to see preserved about Jackson County?" Those in charge of the process even took the time, through a second round of meetings, to go back to the citizens and make sure what they heard and recorded was correct.

The answers to the questions were compiled, and a committee, which includes representatives from around the county, was formed to begin reworking the rough draft toward its final version.

To keep our customers happy, our weekly Blue Plate Specials need to be served each Wednesday evening, hot off the presses. We can only hope that a majority of our readers are satisfied after they've consumed the contents of our pages.

While Jackson County planning officials need not feel the same weekly pressure to produce results, they should bear in mind that many of their customers are anxiously awaiting the results of "Smart Growth." We eagerly anticipate a brighter future in Jackson County, one that incorporates the answers supplied to those two simple questions. Hopefully, the final plan will include a full menu of all available options.

Granted, not all customers enjoy a steamy plate of Chicken Pot Pie. Some prefer Chicken Kiev or even a good, old-fashioned chicken sandwich with pickles.

But what's becoming more and more obvious is that if Jackson County gets any more malnurished in the area of land use regulations, we may all starve.

We could see our quality of life deteriorate if a plan is not put in place - soon. We could find ourselves forced out of our homes, neighborhoods and favorite restaurants to make way for those with both a vision and the means to carry it out. That vision, most likely, will be opposite of what we'd want for ourselves and our families.

Back to Archive: 01/10/02.