“…a group… Citizens for a Better Pope County.., represent a very small, opinionated group.”
Excerpts from letters/emails to the Arkansas Racing Commission in an early 2019 public comment period.
- “There is a group here called Citizens for a Better Pope County, Believe me, they represent a very small, opinionated group. Ironic that people like that can be seen in Oklahoma casinos gambling and drinking on a regular basis. I know because I employ one.”
- “Now that all of this has come to light and much more public, I am learning in my ignorance I was misled on the local ordinance vote. It has been brought to my attention it reads…”majority of registered voters”. I have to ask, has there even ever been “the majority of registered voters” vote in an election? If there was a vote today between God and the devil I don’t think you would get the majority of the registered voters. Was this tactic used in the wording of the ordinance because they believed it was the only way to accomplish their goals?”
- We have a local Senator that, from what I understand met with lobbyists for the Choctaw Casinos and then asked to get the rules changed. We have a new Mayor that seems to bring church into government.
- The only downfall to living in this beautiful town though, is the lack of growth. Unfortunately, every time any new business, development, or opportunity is introduced to this area, the same group of people block the proposal. I have watched this town try to block a WalMart Neighborhood Market, food trucks, multiple restaurants, and even an assisted living facility. We are a great community, but if we want to continue to grow, we have got to stop blocking all opportunities that could allow both growth and change.
One small group of citizens from Russellville shouldn’t have the power to change rules just because they do not like what the rules state. If they can do this, a precedent will be set that allows all rules and regulations in our Constitution to be questioned just because one political group isn’t satisfied. This is truly unfair to all Arkansans who voted for a casino in Pope County and the thousands of citizens in Pope county who desperately need growth to continue to support themselves. - It is worth noting, the opposition of this is the same small group of people that have tried to stop all progress in our city for many years. The lawsuit filed against our current elected officials is a good example of the years and years of this same type of effort to keep Russellville a small town. This same SMALL group of people have also tried to stop construction of our Walmart Neighborhood Market, Arbors Assisted Living Facility, Red Lobster, Caseys General Store, Arkansas Nuclear One, etc. They will always work to get certain church groups excited and file bogus law suits in order to create a mirage that the masses are behind them. When, in fact, a very small amount of people agree with them. The sad part is that only a small percentage of our local area actually gets out and votes. But, given the large outcry on social media and local media outlets, its apparent that a very large majority disagrees and wants the casino here and the progress it will bring.
- Funny, about half the people that I have heard say bad things about having a casino here drive to Oklahoma and elsewhere to gamble and drink on a regular basis including some of those people that call themselves Citizens for a Better Pope County. Term hypocrite comes to mind. People are starting to hear the benefits, the tax numbers and so forth and are now wanting to know why we stand to lose this opportunity to another county. Please understand, Citizens for a Better Pope County represents the opinion of a very small group of people and not the whole of Pope County.
Opinions are cheap, but these are mine. All I know about the above is second and third hand information and it may not be 100% accurate but I have a feeling its not far off. - I believe I am speaking for many when I say our vision of a casino coming to Pope Co was going to be what we see just across the borders of our state. I, and many others, never envisioned a resort like what Gulfside is proposing would come to our area or even our state. This resort can provide a much need boost in our state and local economy if we can just look beyond our conservative beliefs and have an open mind.
- I remember how certain business men tried to stop ANO from coming to our city & County. Now we have business leaders once again trying to stop the growth of our city. ANO has been wonderful. Now we are approaching the end of ANO. We need the Casino here in Russellville, Pope County.
- I’m a registered voter from Pope Co, I did sign the petition for the people of Pope Co. to have the right to vote on whether we got a casino or not. I did not realize at the time they had made it impossible for it ever to pass because they said a majority of the registered voters! I didn’t think it mattered because I thought when it passed state wide that superseded the county vote.
- I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read this letter. I cannot give my name because I attend a local church in Russellville with many of our local elected officials. Our preacher openly speaks against the casino and our previous mayor so while many of us do not agree with him about the casino, we cannot openly support it because of the shame that could occur. I love my church, but this should be a separate issue entirely. I am writing you to ask you to accept Judge Gibson’s letter. He is a good man who would not have signed anything that could hurt us as a community. We need jobs and we need financial growth.
- My name is M____ and I am an immigrant who just received my American citizenship. I work for a small business in Russellville and see the value in adding a casino for our town. We need more business and our town needs more opportunities. I have four children, one of which is already in college. The financial burden of college on a family of six is difficult. If there is even a small chance my child can benefit from these scholarships, I believe the casino is a positive thing, Please honor the former judge’s letter in support to the casino. Our new administration is not interested in helping cur town with this matter, so the previous Judge and Mayor are our only hope