Chronicle Editorial

By: 
Chronicle Staff

Patience with Prestage a virtue
 
     Recent buzz over Prestage Foods’ $240 million pork processing plant reached new heights in Franklin County following two meetings over the past week. Though the company has remained publicly quiet about its intentions since visiting the county last month, it’s important the entire community views the project with cautious optimism moving forward.
     Many lessons can be learned from Mason City’s failures this spring. City officials’ urgency to approve Prestage’s project startled many residents, which ultimately led to massive opposition and failure. Franklin County leaders must take a slower approach and gather thorough information on the plant’s potential impact before jumping to conclusions. This project would be massive and its ripple effect vast, which makes weighing the pros and cons all the more vital.
     Franklin County is not Mason City, and local leaders have made that clear during the past month. We’re an ag-based county that would more than likely welcome a large investment like Prestage’s project. However, the community must keep an even head and look at all angles of the issue. Buzz over Prestage has already led to increased attention from outside groups over the past few days alone, and that will only grow in the weeks and months ahead. Filtering out the nonsense and learning the facts will be key in determining whether the proposed plant would be a good addition here.
 
Stemming the tide of tragedy
 
     Sunday’s tragic event in Orlando was the most deadly terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11. Once the dust settled, 49 people were dead, more than 50 people injured and countless lives changed forever.
     The incident is being viewed through many lenses. Some see it as national security issue, some claim it’s a gun control problem, while others say it’s a hate crime. All are correct, as are the proposals to thwart a similar attack. America is under constant threat of homegrown terrorism and new tactics will be needed to stop such massive bloodshed from reoccurring in the future.
     Convoluting the situation is the fact that the Orlando shooter was a characteristic “lone wolf.” He was a legal citizen that accepted radical Islam on his own accord, which is extremely difficult to stop. However, the FBI had investigated him twice in recent years and gave him the all-clear. The failures of federal investigators led to the worst mass shooting in American history, which is alarming as we look to the future. What other dangerous lone wolves lurk in the shadows waiting to pounce on innocent Americans?
     The United States must bolster its stance on extreme Islamic terrorism through a multi-pronged approach. We need more help combating terrorist groups in the Middle East through strengthened military opposition to crush their message of hate; we must change our laws to restrict gun access to individuals with radical leanings on federal watch lists; and we need to ratchet up internal protocol and intelligence programs to ensure lunatics like the Orlando killer don’t slip through the cracks. All three suggestions will see a fair amount of pushback from both liberals and conservatives, but a diversified plan is the only way to combat the omnipresent threat of domestic terrorism and secure the safety of law-abiding citizens.
     Many Americans believe these types of random attacks will happen no matter our policies and procedures; however, our elected leaders cannot stand idle and wait for the next one. Serious discussion and action must occur to stop this from happening again. Whether it’s Orlando, San Bernardino or somewhere else, our current system clearly isn’t working well enough to stop terrorists from committing mass murder. We can’t become numb to these attacks, because if we do, we’re just setting ourselves up for another tragedy.

Hampton Chronicle

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