After hearing the news Dyersburg had been selected to host an NAIA preseason bowl game in 2009, there was no real surprise at the announcement simply because of knowing how hard Team Dyersburg has worked over the last six months to make it a reality.

Over the last few months several members of the community have voiced their opinions as to whether James Counce's vision for Dyersburg High School was worth supporting, and the answer is an unequivocal yes.

The plans for the future have been well thought out, and while there are going to be questions that will need to be answered, what is wrong with doing something for the betterment of the city of Dyersburg and Dyersburg High School?

Though it's just an opinion, there are a lot of people within the community too closed-minded when it comes to taking a leap at an opportunity for positive growth. Sure, there will be risks involved, but my goodness when was the last sure thing to happen around here? It's been a while hasn't it?

It seems the majority of the community is behind the group and their efforts to renovate the outdated stadium, unless there are risks involved with it. Listen, there are risks with everything we do in our lives, but we take them in stride and move on. The idea of positive cash flow entering the city surely much be looked at as a gain for a slow economy, but will it be enough to persuade the powers that be to help Team Dyersburg to reach their goal of landing the NAIA national championship? Hopefully so.

In a time where the majority of the news in the community is far from positive, this group is putting their best foot forward for a brighter future for the children of the city and they should be commended instead of a select few throwing curveballs at a great idea for the future.

For the few believing this project is all about Counce, forget about it. What is happening here is much larger than Counce, and he is just the ambassador working feverously to make Dyersburg a city known for something positive rather than negative.

The planned renovations, if done right, will shine a bright light on the city and Dyersburg High School for years to come and will be well worth every penny it takes to make it happen, and hopefully the powers that be will see just what a positive effect this will have on the entire city.

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Understanding it will not be an easy task, and yes there will be a limited few to try and shoot the plans down because of this or that, but at the end of the day making Dyersburg better in any way possible is worth the risk involved, especially when it comes to children, don't you agree?

As far as the financing of the project, yes there will be a risk involved just like in anything else, but the time has come to step out and look at the plans with an open mind instead of trying to find something wrong with it.

The stadium at DHS is older than most Trojan football fans and in need of several renovations, whether the NAIA comes to town or not, but Team Dyersburg apparently has some really solid ideas of how to generate revenue, and therefore should be listened to very seriously when the time comes.

Your comments are welcome at msmith@stategazette.com.