Over the past few months I have read several letters on Gant concerning Clearfield County and also various political activities in Clearfield County. Although I am young member of the community and not a native to Clearfield, I am well educated and knowledgeable. I have started a career, purchased a home, and plan to, one day, raise a family in Clearfield.
I believe that we live in a great town, filled with a lot of good people, and loads of potential. Due to various relationships, I have been fortunate enough to know many of the good people in this town. Including, those in political and public service positions, business owners, volunteers, and also white and blue collar workers. All of whom want to see Clearfield County grow and prosper. However, I have also had exposure to many of the naysayers that live in our community. For those of you who feel that we live in a ghost town, or a retirement town, or any other negative adjective you want to use to describe our town, I say, “Go”. Go live and work and develop relationships in another town, because these negative attitudes are exactly why Clearfield has trouble moving forward. As soon as someone with the desire for change and betterment achieves a position of power, they are faced with two choices. They must either rollover and keep the peace, or they attempt to better our community and are bullied out.
Some members of our community talk of wanting change, however; they don’t want to bear the cost nor have their ideals challenged. Many promising opportunities for growth have been shot down in our community, by the close-minded people who are unable to look into the future. Very soon we will have a completed ethanol plant, which is located close to town and a large residential area. When and if this plant every produces ethanol, it is said to be noisy and produce an unpleasant smell. It will decrease property values in that area, increase the railroad traffic through town, and is said to only be in operation for 5 years. After that time we will be left with several, very large, empty structures that will fall into disrepair. Yet that is what the people of Clearfield County wanted and allowed to happen.
Several years ago, The Pennsylvania National Guard had plans to construct and operate a training facility in the area of Shawville. This operation would have brought millions of dollars into the area, filled our community with many model citizens and their families, and would have continued to do so for years to come. Thanks to the members of our community, this idea never became a reality. I believe the most common argument against this operation was the belief that the National Guard would be firing weapons and operating tanks. This in fact was not their intentions, but once again the voice of reason was muffled by the close-minded people.
So why exactly did I return from college and begin a career in Clearfield, when I could have gone anywhere else? Because I still believe in our town and I am hopeful that one day the good people of our community will rise against those opposed to change. Maybe one day our mayor will be allowed to take a stand without being shut down. Maybe one day we can look past peoples personal lives, which will allow us to have a ‘local boy’ in Washington. And maybe one day, we can look past our own self-serving egos and let Clearfield be a place that everyone is proud of, and no one wants to leave.
A. Puccio
Clearfield