PAGE 4
SUMMER NEBRASKAN
MONDAY, JULY 24, 1972
Trouble in
Paradise
Upper right, it has been some time since the Morse Bluff
Leather Shop sold and repaired shoes ... or anything else.
Center right, small towns are good places to bring up kids,
they say, and it's okay there if you stop in the middle of
the street to say "hi." Bottom right, weatherbeaten boards,
broken panes of glass symbols of a small town trying to
stay alive. Bottom left, farmer Ray Racek: "You could
farm the whole United States and still not make any
money." That's one of the problems of a small town.
Photos
by Mike Gettino
family."
He said he doesn't mind the village
becoming a bedroom community if the
newcomers "are friendly and care
about the town."
But another resident was more
skeptical of growth. John Oberton, 44, a
retired Army officer, said he likes things
the way they are.
"Growth iiii't always good," he said.
"More people means more things like
sewers and water systems and police.
Those things mean higher taxes."
He said he would favor expansion if
the new citizens also brought in new
industry. He said the town could tax the
industry then and not increase the
individual's tax load.
"I've got only two complaints," he
said. "First, the prices are too high here
and second, we don't have any
entertainment."
He said the town could use a
chain-type supermarket which could offer
customers bigger savings. However, he
said, he doubts if any will be built until
the town begins to grow faster. He said he
believes more entertainment will come
with a population increase.
Like Valparaiso, towns with something
to offer have a definite future, according
to Bert Evans. Evans, assistant professor
of agricultural economics at UNL has
spent 1 1 years as a UNL extension
specialist in economic development.
"When we talk about saving our small
towns," he said, "we're not talking about
economics, we're talking about the
quality of life. We want to help people
decide under what conditions they want
to live."
Evans said federal grants and lo-.ns are
available for community development,
but before the funds can be obtained, the
town must make plans. He said federal
regulations require strict planning before
money can be granted.
He said he is working with the state
and federal governments to educate
people on the "background of the
problems tney're facing."
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"If people understand what their
problems are," he said, "they can solve
them themselves. When people solve their
own problems they do a much better job
of it."
He said community leaders arc asked
to de e what sort of town they'd like
and then are informed of what
government aid is available. To do this, he
works with the Nebraska Department of
Economic Development (DED).
According to Mrs. Marie Arret,
director of the DED division of
community affairs, more than 1,000
types of grants and loans are available
from the federal government. Most
communities don't know many of these
programs exist, she said.
"It occurred to us as we visited
communities across the state, that most
of our small towns don't have the
resources needed for development," she
said. To help them, the department
compiled a book, "The Guide to
Nebraska State Services," shich lists
departments which can provide
information on community development.
She said the book is partially a
response to an upswing in interest in
community development. One reason for
the upswing is the Nebraska Community
Improvement Program (NCIP), Mrs.
Arnot said.
The program is similar to a contest
between towns involved in development
projects, she said. It was started by
Nebraska's natural gas companies in
1963. The companies offer cash prizes to
outstanding towns participating in any of
five population categories.
A DED survey showed that
communities participating in the NCIP
had a higher rate of population,
employment and industrial growth, she
said.
DED is helping communities develop
"areas of cooperation," Mrs. Arnot said.
Through cooperation, towns could offer
services more cheaply, she said, such as
cooperative law-enforcement and waste
disposal.
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She said there is some opposition to
state and federal programs in certain
communities.
"Sometimes the red tape ii
burdensome," she said. "But when we
run into a frustrated or angry crowd,
well, we try to understand and not take it
personally."
Although rural Nebraskans want
public services, they are realizing they
must try to provide jobs for their young
people if their communities are to grow,
said Bill Wheeler, industrial consultant for
DED.
'Towns either grow or die," he said,
"there is no middle ground. Right now,
many communities in Nebraska are going
broke. As the number of farms has gone
down, these areas have lost their
economic base. They know they must
replace their old source of income."
He said 50 to 60 companies are
looking into the possibility of locating in
rural Nebraska communities. DED is
encouraging existing industries to expand,
too, he said.
The DED also is trying to solve what
one official termed "the rural housing
shortage." Don Sievers, DED housing
consultant, said although no "solid facts
are available" he believes there is a
problem.
"Several of our communities have
taken advantage of some federal
programs," he said, "but they are mostly
only building public housing for the
elderly. They are ignoring all other
types."
He said 70 per cent of all federally
financed housing which has been built in
rural Nebraska is for senior citizens.
'The problem is that many towns have
only used one progiam out of more than
76 they could chose from," he said.
Lack of local leadership, no uniform
statewide minimum housing and building
codes and noncooperation with the
federal government all contribute to the
housing problem, Sievers said.
Disiike for the federal government is
to be expected in dying communities,
Bert Evans said. The UNL professor
claimed it is a national policy to build
large urban centers while abandoning
rural areas.
"No wonder they don't like the
government," he said. "The final impact
of national policy is at the local level."
He charged that the government is
being influenced by "great economic
powers" whose interests lie with the
urban areas. He said it is becoming
"extremely uneconomical" for cities to
get any larger, and the trend must be
reversed.
He said a National Broadcasting Co.
survey showed that a city, after it reaches
a population of two million, become
"highly inefficient." He said the
inefficienccs double the price of services
to the taxpayer.
"If we are going to stop these
inefficiences then we need to stop the
migration to the cities," he said. "Cities
function best at about 250,000 people.
We have to quit thinking 'bigger is
better'."
He said to change national policy will
require a change of thinking on the
public's behalf.
"If we don't change the present
national policy," he said, "Morse Bluff
will dry up and blow away - and it will
be our fault."
But some of the people in Morse Bluff
aren't ready to despair.
Bar owner Francis Sullivan says the
westward expansion of Omaha and
Fremont may help out the town. But no
houses are available in Morse Bluff even if
people wanted to move in.
The 25-year resident of Morse Bluff
said that 10 years ago he thought the
town surely would die. "But not now,"
he said. "Now there's some hope for the
future."
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