Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor:

I am a long-time resident of

rural Caruthersville, and I am writing to express my concern in the announcement that Wal-Mart will be leaving our city.

When Wal-Mart came in 40 years ago it killed the small businesses that thrived in Caruthersville, as it did every- where. Wal-Mart is a small business killer. Now 40 years later we are all concerned our town will die with Wal-Mart leaving. Before we start the funeral services for the town of Caruthersville let’s take a deep breath and take a look at what we have in Caruthersville.

We have citizens that de- spite Wal-Mart being in town, took risks and opened small businesses to serve us. I want you to take a moment and hon- estly ask yourself “Is there any- thing in our little Wal-Mart that I could not purchase at another local Caruthersville business? I cannot think of anything.

We can shop at Dollar General and our locally owned busi- nesses for most everything. When you shop local remem- ber, the money spent locally stays in our community and helps families here while build- ing our economy instead of lin- ing the pockets of a multibillion-dollar corporation.

We all need to shop local and help our local businesses even if it costs a dollar or two more, because the locals can- not get the products as cheap as Wal-Mart corporation who buys all their products in mass quantities.

I believe the City and the Chamber are going to have to work hard to try to bring more local businesses into our town and to promote shopping local.

You have to treat the city like a business and let people know what you have to offer to get them to visit and shop here and in turn spend money here. One way to do this is advertising all we have to offer to families who might be looking for a new town to call home.

Caruthersville has a lot to offer. We are centrally located in the Middle of America, we have a great River Port on the Mighty Mississippi, we have two major interstates that are located within 5 miles. We have a new state of the art High School, a new public safety building, a new sheriff’s office and justice center. We have the Recreation Center which houses an Olympic size indoor swimming pool, hosts kids from three states on a swim team, has a brand new tennis complex, and a new skate park. We also have a new library with a working theatre and a great river boat casino.

How many towns our size have these kind of amenities?

The only time Caruthersville gets any press it seems to be negative. We need to change the image people have when about Caruthersville. Why don’t we start by having televi- sion and radio ads, a website, and use social media promot- ing our great little city. I am aware that all this costs money, but you have to spend some money to make money. If we give up and take all of our shop- ping to the Wal-Mart Super stores within a 20 mile radius we will be boosting the econ- omy of those towns while steadily smothering the econ- omy of Caruthersville. I think the City of Caruthersville has never used all the assets at their disposal in the right way.

One example is the South Ward exit on Interstate I-55. We should spruce up the exit with lighting and landscaping and encourage our town businesses to start looking toward the in- terstate for growth.

I mean honestly if you were not from Caruthersville and were looking to buy gas or find a place to eat would you even get off at the South Ward exit, and if you did would you drive the long distance without see- ing any signs or businesses that looked inviting? No, you would probably drive about half way and turn around and go to an- other town or exit. We need to make our area very appealing to the passing motorist and in- vite them in to shop in our town and spend their money here in- stead of another city such as Dyersburg, Kennett or else- where. Dyersburg has thrived by growing their town off Inter- state 155. It is the only stop be- tween Dyersburg and Kennett on this stretch of Interstate so why not use the interstate traf- fic that is at our south city limits.

These are just some thoughts I had. City leaders feel free to use any of them. I don’t even mind if you say it was your idea, as long as we strive to make the City of Caruthersville thrive again.

This is not about politics but I will leave you with this thought. During the Presiden- tial Election, Donald Trump’s campaign theme is “Make America great again!” Well we need to start with our piece of America and “Make Caruthersville Great Again!

Sincerely,

Matt Fowler

Local Small Business Owner