Look toward the future

We have unfortunately been seeing a number of businesses in Thermopolis closing their doors of late.

On social media we see posts from people who haven’t felt welcomed into our little community and have made the decision to leave.

Our unemployment rate has gone down, but so has our population.

What we’re seeing is not unusual for a lot of small towns across America. The question is, what do we do about it?

When you ask folks what they would like to see in town, the most common answer is one of the fast food chains. Variety is the spice of life, but let’s look at the total picture.

We need to look to our future when thinking about what we’d like to see in Thermopolis. Sure, another fast food place would satisfy for the moment, but where will you buy clothes, shoes or a coat?

Granted, those fast food chains employ a few people, mostly teens, but what about jobs for families that pay a living wage? Let’s look beyond a band-aid fix.

Our lower population can’t be blamed entirely on people leaving because they didn’t feel welcomed here.

Every year there are teachers and their families who decide to move, oil field workers who move where their jobs are and if you remember, we are a retirement community, so many have gone to a better place.

Over the decades we’ve watched our little town rise from the ashes again and again, each time coming back better and stronger than it was before.

Don’t quit.

Don’t stop looking to the future.