Reader Shares Views

Dear Editor,

We had a minister in this area that recently passed away in another town.  He was not afraid to take on the gambling industry.

Since his departure we seem to have become the land of opportunity in gambling and now we have enticed a rum plant to assist in our good standing.

Do we still have a local ministerial association?  I am wondering since I haven’t heard it speak out on the above establishments upon reading the billboards along the highway.

The pastor I spoke of above and my father who was also a pastor would have been screaming at these facilities.  Neither of them  would  have let intimidation from any outlet deter them speaking of their views of the impact that these facilities would have on our lives.

The City of Lafayette finally gave the “heave ho” to racetrack betting due to this pastor’s endeavors.    Since that time, the Lafayette area has outgrown all of this area of our state.  Removing gambling did not drag them down nor deter their progress toward increased jobs and growth.

Now that the Lake Charles area is catering to these folks, I seem to see a decline in business there.  All one has to do is visit the mall or other business centers to see the closed doors of many businesses.

The city government itself does benefit because of the share of the earnings.  New sidewalks, and widening roadways are but a short-term benefit and do not make for steady gains in permanent jobs and flourishing new businesses.

I think that Lafayette is a good example that gambling brings the economy down and not up.  Go see it and view the businesses that have opened there along with some of the best restaurants in Louisiana.

These were also a gamble, but one that actually paid off!

Dick Waltrip

Mermentau

Short URL: http://www.jenningsdailynews.net/?p=11358

Posted by Graphic Designer 2 on Jun 2 2012. Filed under Letters to the Editor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.