After reading the headlines in the Jan. 11 paper, the article entitled "Tale of two cities," which discusses how the attendees try to find solutions to Main Street's "sorry state," I am absolutely amazed at how no one has realized that Main Street in Jackson is dying because of the anti-growth stance that the city has taken.

My family and I have been following these discussions weekly in the Ledger Dispatch, and we are amazed how the city of Jackson is unable to see the obvious. The city of Jackson is so worried about reviving Main Street, and yet they are so resistant to growth in the business community. For example, the unwillingness of the people of Jackson to allow "anchor stores" such as Home Depot to enter the community, in order to draw people back to the city of Jackson to shop again.

The people of Jackson need to realize that they need to compete with the city of Martell by offering the same conveniences and choices. As a "local," why would I choose to shop in Jackson and not Martell? There has to be some sort of "draw" to shopping in Jackson, and unfortunately, the historical aspect of shopping in Jackson isn't enough to bring people to Main Street anymore.

The city of Jackson needs to have an anchor store such as Home Depot in order to provide people with everyday items that might be needed versus only the specialized products found in downtown Jackson's speciality stores. I hope that the community leaders of downtown Jackson will see the benefits of accepting growth in the city in order to save our historic downtown.