Suggestions for area

If the Walton heirs really wish to help the rural Buffalo River valley and not ruin it, I have a few suggestions.

If you want to really bring in jobs, find and recruit light industry or mom-and-pop industries to places like Huntsville, Jasper, Marshall, Mountain View, etc.

Since our High Priestess in Charge and her acolytes are bound and determined to ruin the public school system, dump some money on the rural schools for infrastructure and supplies so the teachers can concentrate on teaching and not fundraising for their supplies and lack of materials and aging infrastructure. The citizens of these areas are not able to afford to keep raising property taxes to pay for the needs, and our High Priestess will not tax those that can.

Emulate Carnegie and help the small rural libraries upgrade so rural students have some place for good reference materials and programs.

Buy up land as it comes available along the Buffalo (not try to bully residents into selling as happened around Kingston) and work with preservation societies such as the Buffalo River Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, The Ozark Society, etc., to really preserve the area and not make it into a glorified playground that will only degrade the river. Every road, bike trail, path, campground, etc., is subject to more erosion, pollution, trash and habitat destruction. The Ozark Rivers, the upper White, the War Eagle, the Kings, the Mulberry, and the Buffalo are not huge rivers and can take only so much human use and not degrade their habitat. Silting and constant disturbance will hurt river fauna (fish, insects, crawfish, mussels, etc.) breeding and populations. They can only stand so much.

Putting articles in local papers berating those of us who prefer to live in a quiet peaceful place as selfish for our lifestyles is not making any friends. We pay for that lifestyle with many disadvantages. We drive long distances for groceries, supplies, medical treatments and such. It is the price we willingly pay. Not all can conform to that life. Telling us it is our duty to entertain you and your lot is a nonstarter.

KEVIN FLEMING

Kingston