Jobs, Jobs, & Jobs

This is all the talk coming from Washington, D.C. and in Jefferson City. It is also in the political debates and the basis of judging all legislation from both sides of the political spectrum. Other goals in the quest to improve the economy have been rebuilding our communities, economic development, adopting green & sustainable principles, promoting education, and stabilizing neighborhoods and neighborhood schools. Guess what? Missouri communities who promote historic preservation can accomplish all these things. Nationally know economist, Donavon Rypkema, studied this in our state and came up with the following conclusions. That public money invested through the historic preservation tax credit program creates more jobs than spending on new construction, highways, and even manufacturing. And investments in our real estate are capital expenses that create jobs during renovations with positions that cannot be outsourced. The best part is that most of the investment is private money not government money. Renovated properties become assets that are put into the service of creating more jobs in tourism, small businesses and in creating housing for families while stabilizing neighborhoods and communities. So why are state legislators considering putting caps on this program? And why aren’t the Independence Chamber and the Council for Economic Development promoting this tax credit program, especially now that the National Historic Landmark District has been expanded? And why aren’t the US Congress and the White House including revitalization and preservation programs in their job-creation plans? It seems to me the reasons these programs are left out is that there is a lack of understanding about the benefits of historic preservation and that citizens are not demanding it. If you feel strongly about this as much as I do, please let your voices be heard at City Hall, Jefferson City, and Washington, D.C. Ask candidates where they stand on historic preservation as tool for economic development and creating jobs. Become a lobbyist for job creation. Support historic preservation!

Sidewalk Shrapnel from the “War on Drugs”

Here at the front lines in the neighborhood battle grounds, the enemy is not readily visible for those nonresidents. Some may say it’s like finding a needle in a hay stack. But for those who live here in the neighborhood, the needles are actually easy to find. In fact, you have to watch where you step. The needle and syringe shown above in the photo was on our sidewalk last weekend. And neighbors around the corner stumbled on a kid’s Libby Lu bag full of drug paraphernalia on their property and another neighbor next to them had found about a half-dozen syringes on their property. If absentee landlords do not hesitate to rent to known sex offenders with records of violence against children, then they’re not likely bothered by drug use on their property. We should not be totally surprised that folks who have committed drug crimes are in our neighborhood. The fact is that drug offenders are given an official invitation to come to the Truman National Historic Landmark District every week. Most of the mandatory drug counseling meetings in Independence are conducted in the lower level of the First Baptist Church while the county government offers a special “Drug Court” right on Main Street directly across from the old Court House and below the watchful eye of sculptured bronze statue of President Truman holding his walking cane, perched prominently and respectfully on an engraved pedestal. We should be proud to host programs that are intended to help people here in the neighborhood. But are these programs successful?According the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, one out of every ten 8^th grade students reported using an illicit drug in the last 30 days. Are we providing adequate resources and a stable revenue source to fund our Police Department’s efforts to fight drug activities in our neighborhoods? Drug problems in the community contribute to neighborhood crime, problems in our schools, homelessness, and public health issues while putting a strain on the tight budgets of local governments. Are we winning the War on Drugs? From the perspective of our area of the National Historic Landmark District, it appears not. We are, however, blessed here in Jackson County to have a special funding source with a program called COMBAT to address these drug problems in our communities. And there are success stories to tell, which we all heard during the last election. But with the legendary stories of the great accomplishments of our 19^th-century pioneers on the trails, the Civil War battles, and the rise of world leader Harry S Truman, one of the nation’s most important neighborhoods also deserves to have success stories in our struggles with keeping our youth free of the dependencies of drugs, social welfare, and cultures of crime. Actually, we could really use someone like Harry Truman back here in his neighborhood and not just in bronze. And history tells us that Harry knew how to end a war!