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I was born in Port Arthur in the 100 block of Fifteenth Street. It was a wonderful place to grow up.

Our schools were among the best in the United States: the first school district to have a 12^th grade. Job opportunities abounded and investment opportunities were plentiful.

With all that Port Arthur has, we can be that way again. We should all look forward, appreciating all of our assets. Our education system is steadily improving.

Unlike most cities our size, we can boast of having a higher education institution within our city limits, which gives us the ability to train and prepare people for any type job in the economy.

Port Arthur has a bounty of good locations for industry, plenty of water, skilled workers, highways, pipelines. We have a modern airport and a port on the ship channel that provides us with more than ample means of transportation, in and out of our city.

It gives us adequate access to the entire world.

Our large industry base growing from the oil industry gives unlimited opportunities for small industry expansion. Our tax funded economic development corporation is ready with seed money to help.

With other investments and prime locations in our business park.

Our newly elected president is emphasizing national unity as a key to our nation’s success. The same can be true if adopted in our city, particularly with our newly elected city council.

Port Arthur is more diverse than most cities; we have worship centers throughout our city for Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and others. We are racially diverse; we have citizens from almost every continent in the world and are able to celebrate the ethnicity of each locally.

Our ethnic diversity is reflected in the variety of great restaurants.

The location of our city gives us easy access to beaches, a lake for sailing and fishing, a large state park for hunting, bird watching or scenic tours.

We should count our blessings. Through vision and unity these assets can bring us great prosperity and make our city a more attractive place to live.

 

Carl Parker is a former Texas state representative and state senator from Port Arthur.