Sanderson Farms: No Winners, No Losers

and Certainly No Heroes

Red shirts? Green shirts? In the end, will it really matter? Did it really matter? I think not. When all is said and done, there will be no real winners or losers here, and, certainly no heroes. Just a shamed, embarrassed, red-faced community we call Cumberland County again hanging its head to avoid eye contact with its North Carolina peers. Well, this is something we all should be getting use to. And, if anyone has future plans for running for political office, a good strategy might be to engage in your own pre-campaign apology tour. This way, Cumberland County residents will know what to expect and, consequently, be less disappointed.

Ugh! Sanderson Farms! Just the thought of that politically charged circus and clown parade makes me want to ask PETA to defend the rights and dignity of my Chick-fil-A sandwich. Well, hopefully, we are close to the end now and perhaps there is a lesson to be learned here. The question remains: Will we learn it? Will we, as a Cumberland County community, ever learn it?

Anyway, I must thank and commend County Commissioners Glenn Adams, Dr. Jeannette Council, Jimmy Keefe and Charles Evans for voting positively on the Sanderson Farms incentive package on behalf of ALL the residents of Cumberland County. The emphasis, of course, being on ALL residents. It was very encouraging to see that Adams, the newest member of the commission, took the time and energy to do his job. He actually studied the Sanderson Farms issue, evaluated pros and cons, did the research and then made a decision that satisfied his intelligence and his conscience — this being a decision that w

 

as in the best interest, again, of all Cumberland County residents.

Hopefully, this marks the beginning of the end of elitist “good ole boy” local politics where the influence and wealth of a few privileged landowners manipulate the course of local quality-of-life actions that affect the health, wealth and futures of hundreds of thousands of Cumberland County residents. From the very beginning, Adams, Council and Keefe have demonstrated character and did the right things for the right reasons.

They should feel good and extremely proud of their decision. Let it be known that this level of integrity, honesty and leadership does NOT go unnoticed.

This is the style of leadership that will move our community forward and we should all thank them for their service and commitment. As for everyone else, well, we can do better. Content of character is the element we should be looking for in great community leaders. Action by default is not leadership (Mr. Evans). Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

Photo: Sanderson Farms has been a hot topic in the community recently. When all is said and done, there will be no real winners or losers here, and, certainly no heroes. Just a shamed, embarrassed, red faced community we call Cumberland County again hanging its head to avoid eye contact with its North Carolina peers.