Editorials
Accountability is key to economic growth
With the unemployment rate for the Metro Dalton area well above 12 percent, any hint that an employer is looking at adding jobs is welcomed news.
So it was Thursday night at a meeting of the Dalton-Whitfield Joint Development Authority when an official for Looptex Mills said the company plans to buy an existing building in Whitfield County and expand it by up to 200,000 to 250,000 square feet.
He said that Looptex plans to bring some of its operations outside of Whitfield County into the expanded building and that as many as 120 to 125 new jobs could be created locally as a result.
But the hope of new jobs from this project is still just hope right now, and the announcement also shows how tricky economic development can be.
To make this plan work, Looptex has gotten a commitment from the JDA to issue up to $5 million in bonds to help the company acquire and expand the building.
JDA chairman Chuck Dobbins said Looptex would be responsible for the repayment of the bonds and that the governments of Whitfield County and Dalton would not be liable. But it would allow the company to get a lower interest rate potentially on the bonds.
“The next step will be for the company to continue their investigation into the property and determine their financing, seek the proper bond financing. Then they will come back to the authority for a formal memorandum of understanding and an actual bond issuance,” he said.
As we all know, however, any number of things can happen between now and then. Looptex may end up not purchasing the building. Or it may purchase the building, but face business conditions that could force it to either scale back its hiring plans or allow it to increase them.
What is true of this deal, as is true of most economic development deals these days, is that public money is involved.
And when public money is involved, we urge everyone involved to remember that we all have a stake in what happens.
As such, the best course of action is to keep the public informed about what is going on.
We wish Looptex well in bringing its plan to fruition and we believe that the JDA is acting in the best interests of the public.
Just remember that openness is the right course of action when any company looks to use the taxpayer to help them out.
The Daily Citizen
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Ron Hart: The Obama-Care Bill: A Game of Hide and Seek from the Deem-and-Pass-o-Crats
President Obama says we have been debating the ObamaCare bill for a year, and now it’s time to ram it through in a down — or up-yours anyway — vote.
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Tim Rogers: Getting under my skin
There are few things in life that I really feel strident about. In fact, I tend to go out of my way to fix a problem or reach a compromise on some issue if I can.
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A new middle school would push Dalton forward
As we all know, Whitfield County Schools is expanding its high school count to three.
This process has had some controversy, but at the core it is a simple philosophy — smaller schools with smaller student counts is a good thing for the learning process. -
Citizen of the Week: Courtney Bauer
It is a rare honor to be selected as the youth of the year for any organization, let alone one that serves as many children as The Boys & Girls Clubs do.
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Letter: Paper chose wrong picture, words
I was very disappointed with the way the paper displayed the front page story Saturday of the basketball finals.
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The time spent is worth it
Sixty-eight arrests, and possibly more, 10 law enforcement agencies and 14 months of hard work.
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Tim Rogers: Looking for the good
Good morning.
Several years ago, when I worked in Wichita, Kan., I ate lunch most days with a reporter friend who could find a conspiracy in just about any situation.
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Wanted: Jobs in private sector
13.1 percent.
That is the unemployment rate in the Dalton Metro area right now.
And the statistics don’t suggest that it will go away anytime soon.
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Citizens of the Week: Supporters of United Way and its agencies
Times are tough. Money is tight. Resources are scarce. But the people of Whitfield and Murray counties keep giving their time and money to those less fortunate.
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Root for the Lady Bruins
No matter where you live in Whitfield County or Murray County, or what team you root for, it will be cool to wear blue today.
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Ron Hart: The Obama-Care Bill: A Game of Hide and Seek from the Deem-and-Pass-o-Crats
