Rural communities in Indiana face a difficult challenge to maintain at least part of the nostalgic vision of small-town Hoosier life.
Country schools have faced closures and consolidations in recent years because of declining enrollments. And, state funding for rural schools has been inadequate, with Indiana spending only $5,582 per pupil for rural-student instruction, compared to the national average of $7,174, according to 2021-22 data in a December report by School Matters.
Some towns have seen their post offices close or hours curtailed.
Amid this, small towns look for quality- of-life assets to revive populations, and add new residents to boost vital services like volunteer fire departments, churches and social organizations.
The pluses present in the small southern Vigo County town of Prairieton have been on residents’ minds there.
Many are challenging the planned opening of a Dollar General convenience store in Prairieton, an unincorporated town of a few hundred residents. The national store chain has acquired property south of the Prairieton United Methodist Church and had petitioned the Vigo County Area Plan Commission for rezoning of the property for commercial use. It would be located on the east side of Indiana 63.
Several dozen residents attended the Plan Commission’s meeting Wednesday at the Vigo County Annex, pleading their case against the placement of the Dollar General outlet at that location. Alas, the commission voted overwhelmingly in Dollar General’s favor of the rezoning from A-1, agricultural, to C-2, community commercial district. Only one Plan Commission member, Mark Clinkenbeard, voted against. He is also a Vigo County Commissioner, and county commissioners will have the final say on the rezoning.
That comes Tuesday, when the three county commissioners will consider the Plan Commission’s recommendation vote — which is only advisory and non-binding — and then possibly render an official decision.
Residents plan to attend the county commissioners meeting, as well.
Their concerns should be taken seriously. They are concerned the store location is in an area prone to traffic accidents along Indiana 63. They fear such a store could adversely affect property values. They are worried it might invite crime. And, because Dollar Generals sell alcohol, those sales would be occurring right beside the Methodist Church.
An attorney for Dollar General insisted, apparently persuasively, that Dollar Generals do not typically draw a lot of extra traffic, and stated the Plan Commission’s role is to plan land use, rather than choose a particular user for a particular property. The commission’s votes reflect the effectiveness of his argument.
The county commissioners, though, should weigh the residents’ desires and concerns. Prairieton’s 21st-century atmosphere as a quiet, residential place should be just as relevant in their consideration as a national convenience store chain’s desire to add a location there. It is happening with greater frequency. Also Tuesday, county commissioners will consider Plan Commission-approved rezoning requests for Dollar General stores at East Springhill Drive and Erie Canal Road, and another at Haythorne and Fruitridge avenues.
Dollar stores represent the fastest- growing food retailer in the U.S. and have doubled their numbers in rural areas, according to a December 2023 report from Tufts University. And while such outlets address the problem of food deserts — a reality in parts of Vigo County — only a limited number of dollar stores offer healthier foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables.
Whatever the county commissioners decide Tuesday, that decision should address, and not dismiss, the Prairieton residents’ concerns.
© 2024 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.