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Beebe highlights keys to Delta revitalization Saturday, Jan 20, 2007 By Jason Wiest Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Better education, the development of the tourism and biofuels industries and affordable health care and housing are the keys to revitalizing the Arkansas Delta, Gov. Mike Beebe said Friday. The process will be slow and all levels of government will have to cooperate to turn around one of the most economically depressed regions in the nation, Beebe said in a speech at the Mississippi Delta Grassroots Caucus conference at the Clinton library. "I can tell you this: We will do our part," Beebe said, referring to state government help. Beebe's proposed $40 million increase in funding for preschool programs and an initiative House speaker Benny Petrus is developing for alternative fuels both could help the Delta, the governor said. With an eco-system full of switchgrass, wood byproducts, soybeans and more, Arkansas has the potential to be a leading source of alternative fuels, Beebe said, adding entrepreneurial spirit will be needed to develop the industry. "Can you imagine the Delta and South Arkansas becoming the Silicon Valley of alternative fuels by having the kind of investment and job opportunities and new markets for all of our people to be able to make renewable sources of energy?" he asked. "We can do these things if we have courage and willpower." Help from Congress in building infrastructure also will be needed, he said. "If we can spend $15 billion rebuilding Baghdad, we can have a Delta parkway," Beebe said. While some have questioned whether a new Democratic majority in Congress will help the Delta, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater said he believes Congress will work with the states. Eco-tourism and eco-business are new eras of interest prime for Arkansas, he said. "I think that they're opportunities again for us to play to our strengths," Slater said. |
