La Paz County and the communities of Wenden and Salome have a prime opportunity to attract new jobs and business investments.
New jobs that are needed.
The jobs planned for those communities by Alliance Metals USA will also provide needed tax revenue for schools, community colleges and flood control.
Alliance Metals USA wants to bring an aluminum manufacturing plant to a closed down cotton gin between Wenden and Salome.
Alliance plans on investing $30 million into its new La Paz operations in the McMullen Valley. The company will be a good neighbor and steward of the property.
That includes installing technology and infrastructure and adopting best practices to curtail emissions and ensure air and water quality. The cotton gins that previously operated on the site had very high emissions negatively impacting air quality.
La Paz County is a great place to live, raise a family and retire but the county and McMullen Valley also need new jobs and investments.
Close to 21 percent of La Paz County residents live in poverty and 20 percent don’t have health insurance. The county has lost 900 jobs so far this year and its unemployment rate is almost double the national average.
Alliance Metals USA will bring construction and permanent jobs to Wenden and Salome. The American company’s investment in the county could also open door to more employers investing La Paz County.
Let’s not forget the investment will mean increased tax revenue for local schools, flood control infrastructure and community colleges. Those are important to consider for the area’s quality of life.
There are skeptics and opponents to the jobs and investment. Some of them are fueled by crazy conspiracy theories, social media extremists and biased new stories that have had to be corrected because of factual errors.
Alliance Metals USA is poised to be a good neighbor, safeguard air and water quality and bring new jobs to La Paz and the McMullen Valley.
It just needs the chance to make a difference. And the Board of Supervisors needs to consider this: If they say no to a no-brainer will other brains leading other companies think of La Paz County in the future?