Field, David D.

English

Research Papers in Economics

DIVERSITY  OF RURAL  PLACES-TEXAS
David D. Field
Dallam County, Texas
Government is  like a big baby that never grows up! This is a truth
that can  be demonstrated  by this  simple  statement:  "When  govern-
ment is bad, we expect it to change  itself."  Not only is this statement
ludicrous,  but it  disobeys  the Second  Law  of Thermodynamics
which,  put simply,  states that any system left  to itself will always
move  from a state of order to a state of disorder.  As  a pragmatic  op-
timist, I can safely say the federal government is hopeless. State gov-
ernments  are also  hopeless  on  a  smaller scale,  but you can still
change local government. It still responds to the squeaky wheel.
The  only thing worse than an armchair  quarterback  is an arm-
chair  expert on  government,  big  business,  education,  or  any  other
social or political dilemma.  In solving the problems  of rural areas
there is  no room for those  who want to sit around debating and ana-
lyzing those problems. There  is only one solution.  Look on the up
side,  not  the down  side,  and start where you are.  The  independent
nature of rural people will prevent rural communities  from ever uni-
ting to become  a single special interest  group. Therefore,  some local
person or group  must take the initiative  to work  together to start
somewhere.  Community leaders  must recognize  that the  futures  of
rural business  and  agriculture  are intertwined.  Challenges,  such  as
providing  effective rural  education and  adequate  health  care  deliv-
ery in rural areas,  must be addressed collectively  even when in con-
flict with the generally independent nature of rural people.
The town of Dalhart, Texas, began addressing these issues in 1988
through a series  of public  meetings held  with the help  of the Texas
Agricultural  Extension  Service  and a  grant  from the  W.K.  Kellogg
Foundation.  We soon established  what the  most critical rural devel-
opment  policy  issues  were and developed  economic growth strat-
egies in response.  Since no single town or local entity could finan-
cially  support any  approach  on a grand scale,  we had to look at our
"economic  geography."
Governmental  units formed  a  century  or more  ago need  the  per-
spective  of economic  geography,  the essence  of community develop-
ment and strategic  planning.  Dalhart sits  astride the boundary  of
Dallam and Hartley  counties.  Dallam County is  located  in the north-
west corner  of the  Texas panhandle,  bordering  New mexico  and
Oklahoma  and less than fifty  miles from Colorado  and Kansas.  The
number  one priority  was  to take  control  of economic  geography  by
201improving local governmental  efficiency.  To do so required working
together through joint planning meetings and avoiding "turf' battles.
Since  that first  public  meeting  in  1988,  Dalhart  has  acquired  a
2,000-bed  prison  facility  that will open  in January,  1995.  The  prison
farm donated  by local governmental  entities,  will raise enough pinto
beans to feed the entire  prison population  of Texas.  Also,  Premium
Standard  Farms (PSF) of Texas is expanding a  300,000-head hog  fa-
cility in  Dallam County to process  7,000  hogs per day.  PSF  will per-
form all  aspects of the process  including  marketing the packaged
product.  More than  1,000 new jobs will be created in the two-county
area of less than  10,000 population.  A downtown  movie theater  was
restored  to  become a  community dinner  theater  and another  aban-
doned  downtown  building  was  restored  to become  a community
youth center.  An old  downtown  church was  converted  into a senior
citizen center.  The local silted-in lake has been designated  a state
waterfowl refuge.
Growing pains have created new problems such as  housing and
increased  demands  for  new infrastructure.  Dallam County  is  the
Texas  county furthest from  the  capital Austin.  In fact,  it is closer to
five other  state capitals  than  Austin.  Thus,  our economic  geography
includes the corners of five  states that are learning to cooperate  eco-
nomically.  It  also  creates  tremendous  opportunities  for food  stamp
fraud.  Along  with our Texas  pride  comes  a Texas prejudice  against
those  north  of the  state  line  and those  south  of the  border.  This
causes closed  communities  that are resistant to  people  moving  in to
fill the  newly created jobs.  These  adversities can  become  stumbling
blocks  to  economic  development,  or  they  can be  sources  of energy
and movement to cooperate  and form creative  solutions.
In our  3,000-square-mile,  two-county  area with  a population  of
9,000,  five  school  districts,  four  towns,  two  hospital  districts,  two
water  districts,  five  fire  departments,  three  law enforcement  agen-
cies, and numerous duplicated  services, each of these entities  is rep-
resented  in quarterly meetings  held to discuss problems and joint so-
lutions.  Both  county commissioners'  courts  meet together  monthly.
Annually,  interested  community leaders  meet  in  a constructive
forum to define problems and assign task groups to address  them.  If
we cannot define  what we want,  we  define what we  do not want.
Goals  are set and  key leadership  positions  are appointed.  Although
consolidation  of various entities has been suggested,  it is too emo-
tional an issue.  Working together is paramount.
In the  1990s the successful  person has arrived.  He  wants to play
golf and enjoy the American dream.  His recreation  is designed  to
keep him busy and  out of trouble.  He expects the low achiever  to
work  more,  to  stay  busy  and out  of trouble.  Conversely,  the low
achiever  thinks the government  and the  successful  owe  him a living
and a  high standard  of recreation.  To him  this is the  American
dream.  Welfare and  greed continue  to perpetuate  these myths.
202Rural America  does not need to become  a welfare  state. Many rural
communities  are dying,  but some are succeeding  where others have
failed.  To  one,  diversity  becomes  a  stimulus to  organize.  To  the
other,  diversity suffocates  economic  development.  To one, adversity
becomes a  source of energy  to  continue  progress.  To the  other,  ad-
versity  becomes an insurmountable  hurdle.
Rural America  must continue  to provide food and fiber for our na-
tion and,  more specifically,  the conservative,  common-sense  leaders
our  nation  so  desperately needs.  America was settled  by castaways
who had nothing but a dream.  Rural communities  are the castaways
of today  and,  while  holding  some  90  percent of the nation's natural
resources,  they  can still realize  the true American dream  if they or-
ganize around the diversity of their economic  geography.
203

DIVERSITY OF RURAL PLACES - TEXAS

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