Column for June 19, 2008

Troy's critique of the Selma Strategic Plan

I waited a couple of weeks to allow the Selma Strategic Plan to be disseminated before I made my commentary thereon public. I figured I would allow people the chance to read it in a previous edition of this very newspaper and download copies from the internet. Also, the town council has formally accepted the plan, so now would be an appropriate time to "add my two cents worth". I downloaded my copy as soon as it was available, printed it out, and got out my red pen to start scribbling notes in the margins.

I am not seeking to criticize any one or even the concept of having the Strategic Plan, though I am proffering my critique. I do seek to add some insights and suggestions for carrying out such a plan for Selma. I found a few things I would like to see added and taken into consideration.

The name of the project is perhaps misleading. The document is not actually a plan so much as it is a list of suggestions for the town for inclusion in a future plan. The 38 page document I have in front of me contains mostly suggestions for improvement after listing some strengths and weaknesses in the town. There is nothing wrong with that per se, and I am glad to see some honesty on the part of the plan makers.

To be quite honest, and I have written about this previously on the internet, I am glad to see that council member Cheryl Oliver has been doing a lot of work on this plan. When she ran for council last year, and I am being blunt about this, I truly felt that though likeable and intelligent, she was lacking on knowledge of the issues facing Selma. This is no slight to her, since she had not been long returned to Selma to reside here.

The only way anyone becomes informed on the issues is with time and with active participation. That is the only way I got to know anything about Selma, by the choice to get actively involved, read, listen, and find out for myself. That made me a better citizen. By her participation in a project like this, I am sure that Ms. Oliver has become a more informed citizen, and just as importantly, a more informed elected representative. That is good for the constituents of Selma as a whole.

I see that Pat Weaver also had a lot to do with the document. I have seen Pat and her husband, Ken get involved with our town. I have had a few conversations with Pat in the past. Perhaps some of our citizens have seen Ken speak at citizen's forums at council meetings. I also serve on the Planning Board with Ken. It is good to see Pat and Ken both becoming involved more in Selma. I do wish that more people would do as they have done and get more involved.

So begins my critique. Chapter One states the mission of the planning committee and the report. It has the obligatory information about who, why, etc. Not much to comment upon except that I did not find the "plan" to contain much in the way of laying out an actual plan, as stated earlier. Still, the document has value.

Chapter Two probably could have been eliminated altogether. The stating of the town's history is not planning or a necessity to a plan, in my opinion, but it was nice to get a refresher and the information out there. I will comment on the town's history and its benefit later.

As to the section "Location", I am perplexed about one sentence. "This makes Selma quite appealing to residents, businesses, and tourists." I have never considered Selma a tourist destination. Sure, we have The Rudy Theater with the fine performances put on there, but other than shopping for antiques, that is about it. I do not consider antique shopping or catching a show to be tourism. That is mission oriented, short-term visitation.

Unfortunately, the one thing that makes Selma an ideal location for travelers on I-95 to stop for a break, being midway between New York and Florida, is the same thing that brings us problems. There is a significant drug trade along I-95 between Miami and the Northeast Corridor. Selma, Kenly, and other towns along our stretch of the interstate are unfortunately both the benefactors and victims of that desirous geography at the same time. We get both the visitors desired and undesired at the same time. I guess we have to take the good with the bad.

I have to chuckle a bit at the idea of a Vick's Museum. Smithfield's great claim to fame is being the birthplace and residence of Ava Gardner. Quite honestly, with Ava having been of a generation earlier than my own, I was not familiar with her so much until I started working and then living in Johnston County. I have one or two of her movies on the shelf, but that is about it. I can see some dedicated fans or movie lovers stopping and seeing the shrine to her in downtown Smithfield, but it is hard to imagine people stopping to see a shrine to VapoRub.

I personally had no idea that the salve my mom used to smear all over my chest and under my nose was invented in the town where I reside until just a couple of years ago. I worked in this town for several years and later lived here a while before I finally found and took the time to read a history of the town. I had no idea that I could look from the end of my drive way and see the building where that smelly stuff was invented. Now that was cool, I thought.

I don't think that we have the original apothecary of Lunsford Richardson laying around anywhere for us to set up. I would personally be amazed if Procter and Gamble would be interested in setting up a museum to their product, but you never know. Perhaps a few well placed VapoRub vending machines in Uptown would be fun and useful. The Vick Building is perhaps the only truly historic building in town, in my opinion, but I will write more on this concept later, as I am out of space for this week.