Published: February 25, 2007 11:45 pm      

The missing generation

by Samantha Swindler

Being young and single in Corbin isn’t easy.

Every day I become more and more convinced that I will die alone in a house full of cats.

And I hate cats.

There was a time in my life when I went out at night, attended concerts and met friends for happy hour. Now, I stay up late on the weekend refinishing my floor. Last Saturday night, I watched “The Naked Brothers Band” on Nickelodeon. Granted, it snowed, but on any other weekend night I would still probably be watching television geared for tweens.

I mention all this, not because I’m proud of how my social life has shriveled, died and is decaying before me, but to ask the Tri-County — surely somewhere, among the thousands who will read this ... or maybe the hundreds who are still with me this far into the column ... there are others like me.

Where are you, you former Smurf fans? You owners of M.C. Hammer cassette tapes? You who are only a few years past college graduation?

In the Tri-County, we are the missing generation.

And our dwindling numbers pose bigger problems for southeastern Kentucky than simply my inability to find a date.

Recently, a study by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education showed that most resident college graduates are staying in Kentucky, and there is no so-called “brain drain” on a state level. But I wonder what the numbers suggest locally. What are the migration patterns within the state? What is the “brain drain” scenario for rural areas? Are there people from Lexington taking jobs in Barbourville? None of these issues were addressed in the study, which you can view at http://www.cpe.ky.gov/info/special/

According to the report, more than 90 percent of Tri-County native college graduates stay in the state. But I doubt they are staying here — and in other rural areas. Hal Rogers, for one, knows this. This is why he created Rogers Scholars and the mecca Rural Development Center. The Scholars try to identify the future leaders of southeastern Kentucky and give them the resources to succeed in this region, to return to their hometowns (and his constituency...) with ideas for growth.

Why do people in their 20s leave Corbin? With a little brother who is currently a high school junior in a town smaller than this, I can generalize the following — kids leave because there are no good jobs, there’s nothing to do at night, and they just want to try something — anything — different.

While we can’t do anything to change wanderlust, we can address the first two problems.

Job opportunities are growing in this region. The London-Laurel area, especially, seems to be hitting a growth high-point, and it’s due in no small part to available jobs.

I don’t have any ideas for bringing college-degree jobs here that economic development people haven’t already thought of. I suppose large business parks offering affordable office space could entice corporations that are paying too much in city locations. The way the world is linked today, you can run a major business in rural, southeastern Kentucky for much less than it would cost you in New York.

But the entertainment factor needs some serious work.

This area needs more things to do at night — more concerts, public events, festivals that don’t necessarily require one to wear a coonskin cap. Although I love these small town festivals, I’m also excited about Thursday Night Live this summer in London. Those free downtown concerts will offer something a bit less ... folksy.

Of course, when you’re talking about entertainment for people in their 20s, you’ve got to mention alcohol. I don’t really care that there aren’t package stores here, but I’m proud of Corbin and London for realizing the money to be gained by allowing alcohol sales in restaurants.

Still, we ought to be able to have a beer while watching the game on Sunday. It also wouldn’t hurt to change Corbin’s law to allow restaurants with less than 100 seats to serve alcohol. A night downtown would be nice at small bistro with a glass of wine.

I realize there are those who object to drinking and serving alcohol on moral grounds. But clearly, the lack of liquor stores in this area has done little to curb the problem of alcoholism. (If you don’t believe me, please flip to the page with our arrest reports and count the number of crimes that occurred "under the influence.")

It almost seems like there’s little to lose by going more wet — and it might help this place’s image to outsiders looking to move here.

Until about five years ago, I didn’t realize there were places in this country that didn’t allow liquor stores. That was before my parents (and later myself) moved to a small town. This fact doesn’t bother me, but my friends in Houston were mortified by the prospect.

“Oh my God! You poor thing!” they said.

Immediately, it’s assumed I’m living in the town from “Footloose.”

Even if there are good jobs in rural areas, these are the things that scare out-of-town graduates from moving here. It’s something this area needs to think about. How much is worth changing about small town life to gain growth — and how much do we even want growth?

I think growth for this area is still a good thing — the Tri-County is a long way from fears of inner-city crime and overcrowding. Attracting young college graduates can do nothing but boost income levels, property values and cultural activities.

And adding to the dating pool isn’t a bad thing either.



Samantha Swindler can be reached at sswindler@thetimestribune.com