Mayor’s Row……………….by Ned Mitchell

            “We’re in a pickle now” proclaimed the FREDCO insider after the newly formed economic development group in Franklin County became the focus in the hotly contested State Senate race in the 59^th district.  Incumbent State Senator Gary Forby accused challenger Ken Burzynski of being in charge of the organization when a federal tax payment was missed.  Burzynski quickly denied that it was his responsibility to see to it that the payments were made and claimed the missed payment happened during a change in directors.

            First of all it is a fact that the payment was missed.  Secondly that is probably not all that big of a deal in that a lot of businesses and organizations do the same thing.  Once the situation is discovered it is usually a wise idea to pay the delinquent tax and penalty and vow not to do it again.  The feds want the money; they don’t care about the reasons.

            Where the problem arises in this particular situation is now we have a tribal feud between elected officials making up the funding mechanism for FREDCO.  This is not good for a variety of reasons chief among them the “black eye” that FREDCO has suffered in this political game of one-upmanship.   Suppose you are a business looking to locate in Franklin County and you do a Google search on your computer and enter the name FREDCO.  You are going to find a wide range of stories on FREDCO that will pop up on your computer screen including news stories outlining the fact that FREDCO failed to pay its’ taxes in a timely manner.  This will not set well with prospective developers and in some eyes will make the agency look kind of incompetent.

            Equally important is the fact that getting all the cities and villages in Franklin County under one big economic development tent has been a difficult task to pull off.  It was done by a series of one on one meetings between mayors of both large and small Franklin County communities.  We have not been instantly successful but progress has been made and for the first time the larger communities of Benton and West Frankfort were sitting down at the table with us little guys and making progress with doing away with the notion “all for me and none for you” that has been the mantra of economic development for decades in this county.

            The little guys like Sesser have the most to lose and we know that very well.  We cannot afford to hire our own economic developer much the same as Christopher, Zeigler, Royalton, Coello, Buckner, Thompsonville, Ewing and others cannot either.  Benton and West Frankfort can afford to run their own economic development operations and both have them readily available.  What we were attempting to do with FREDCO is join forces big and small and work toward the common goal of if one town gets a new business or factory we can all benefit.  Up till now even though success stories have been far and few between we have stayed the course and can point to FEDEX opening a large operation in the West Frankfort Industrial Park and a few smaller relocations and expansions as good things for all of us.  We might have a FEDEX employee move to Sesser or one of our neighbors so the potential is there for all of us once the business is up and running.

            Folks this will not happen in FREDCO if members are fighting with each other and that is exactly where we are at thanks to politics being injected into the agency.  I’m not blaming Ken Burzynski for the taxes not being paid.  Once the mistake was discovered the taxes are being paid.  I’m not blaming the Forby campaign for turning this into a political football because I know all too well that politics can be a mean and ugly game sometimes with innocent people being hurt in an un-intentional manner. 

            What I am saying is that we that make up FREDCO do not need this agency becoming the brunt of a political campaign.  We already have a steep mountain to climb in Illinois, particularly in Franklin County when it comes to economic development.  We have the highest unemployment rate of any county in the state and that speaks volumes to potential economic developers who look at such statistics as a sure sign of things gone awry.  This has made that mountain a little steeper and a bit more of a challenge.  We have our work cut out for us to try to get trust amongst members again.  We must focus on the mission at hand and that is to attract new businesses to Franklin County.  I’ll be so happy when this election is over so that those of us who really care about the future of Franklin County can pick up the shattered pieces of this puzzle and begin the task of rebuilding FREDCO.  No matter who wins the State Senate race we will need both Gary Forby and Ken Burzynski and each of their supporters to begin the healing process that will allow FREDCO to focus on economic development and not politics.  It has no place in an organization such as FREDCO.  Shame on those who brought politics into the FREDCO door and shame on us for being silent and allowing it to hamper our efforts!

            Much as I predicted a few months back the price of gasoline has dropped dramatically just before the election.  In some areas of Missouri it is as of this writing below $2.00 per gallon instead of the $4.00 plus per gallon price that we had to pay a few weeks ago.  This is merely a “feel good” price fix by politicians who seek favor from the voters.  My advice to all is to enjoy it while you can because once the election is over and 99% of the incumbents have been re-elected to another term in office, gasoline prices will spike up again until just prior to the next election.  It is no wonder we as voters are taken for granted.  We forget about the price gouging that went on and focus on the here and now as we enjoy a fill up for $40 bucks instead of $80.

            If you missed your flu shot you still have a chance to come to Sesser on Election Day to get your shots.  The clinic will be in the upstairs of the historic Sesser Opera House from 1 to 3 pm and it is open to everyone.

            Former Sesserite Duane Thompson, now of Atlanta, Georgia visited Sesser a few weeks ago and took a tour of the Opera House.  Duane was one of the original organizers of a group of residents who undertook and started the effort to save the grand old structure.  Duane was very pleased with the results of a lot of hard work and that was very pleasing to me.  It is always good to have former residents come and see what we have done and appreciate the labor involved in the ongoing process.

            Speaking of being in a pickle that I started this column with I could not find anyone person to attribute that famous saying to.  But, if you are craving a pickle the place to get one like your grandma used to can is the Bear Point Free Will Baptist County Store this Saturday.  If you want the good stuff, get there early or you will find yourself doing without a good pickle until next year.  The fried pies by Carleen Roberts and canned garden goodies are fast sellers so you have been warned!

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