For a brief, shining moment the other day, we in the newsroom thought a bill allowing $10 million in bonds to help revitalize downtown Natchez had sailed through the Senate and was just a few more legislative steps from becoming reality.

But it turns out the bill was actually turned inside out, all of the language about Natchez removed and amendments added to bring Gov. Haley Barbour’s &8220;Momentum Mississippi&8221; program back to life.

Still, perhaps it says something for our sense of optimism that we thought such a large project would make it into law.

There is still time for lawmakers to pass the Natchez bonds. State Sen. Bob Dearing believes the legislation still has a chance.

But if lawmakers don’t approve the bonds, I hope city leaders will make every attempt to get the bill back in front of legislators again in the future.

We have to have that kind of persistence to get noticed.

And we also have to have the brains and brawn to back up our words.

Everyone knows we’ve suffered some tough blows as a community in recent years.

In that time I’ve heard a lot of people complain that we have been ignored over the years by the very people who could help solve our problems, whether it’s federal agencies or state officials.

The fact is, the state of our economy itself has garnered us attention recently. Barbour promised recently that he would make something happen in Southwest Mississippi, and we need to hold him to that promise.

But we’ve got to hold up our end of the bargain. What are we going to do with the attention we receive?

Take a look around &045; you might see that lately, we’re going to do plenty.

Last week we watched as the EDA, city and county joined together to welcome a small engineering firm to town. It’s a small number of jobs, but it’s got a large payroll and it’s yet another example of area agencies working together.

Today’s front page details a long list of projects Natchez officials have in the works, projects they will seek federal funding for when they go to Washington, D.C., this month.

Maybe we’ll get some of the money this year, maybe we won’t. But those kinds of projects &045; and the hard work behind them &045; are what get us continued attention.

And maybe that’s why we haven’t seen as much help in recent years.

Take a look around Natchez and you’ll see dozens of projects that show someone was listening to us &045; from the multi-million bluff stabilization to the Natchez National Historical Park.

Trent Lott’s column on this page talks about a proposed Interstate across the South’s Black Belt that would help connect Natchez to other cities. He’s still pushing to get the legislation passed, and he knows Natchez would benefit the most in his state.

It’s not enough for us to need help &045; we have to prove we’re going to make the most of the help we receive.

Kerry Whipple

is editor of The Democrat. She can be reached at 601-445-3541 or by e-mail at

kerry.whipple@natchezdemocrat.com

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