A recent book titled “Something Must Be Done about Prince Edward County” by Kristen Green outlines the alleged ills caused by the closing of the public schools in Prince Edward County. Rehashing historical facts and placing blame does little. Nothing can be done about it, and we’ve moved on.

We recently elected our first female, African-American commonwealth’s attorney. We have an African-American sheriff and clerk of the circuit court. The board of supervisors and town council are racially balanced. Blacks and whites work out together at our YMCA, sing together in a community choir, participate in youth sports programs and strive to make our community better with projects, such as building Habitat for Humanity homes together.

Farmville boasts retail sales of a half- billion dollars, according to the town. Our unemployment rate is 5.6 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor statistics. A new, enlarged Barnes & Noble bookstore will open downtown. An upscale hotel and restaurant are planned. Centra Southside Community Hospital provides exceptional health care. We have a wonderful library, recreation department, parks and trails.

Prince Edward County, Fuqua and New Life Christian School offer choices in secondary education. This competition will force our public and private schools to keep improving. Few communities our size have three excellent institutions of higher education such as Longwood University, Hampden-Sydney College and Southside Virginia Community College.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have problems and there aren’t people in our county who harbor ill feelings about the past. I, along with some others who personally experienced the school closings, once participated in a reconciliation project.

Initially, one could feel the bitterness and resentment from some of the black members. We found by talking things through, trying to understand each other, we became closer and grew to be friends. We wanted to reach out to the community because we all understood that by learning from past mistakes, working together trying not to repeat them, we can move forward.

Prince Edward County has done a reasonably good job of this, but we can always improve.

For instance, we could have better cooperation between our town and county in the areas of economic development and public transportation. We need better financial support of the YMCA — a fantastic community facility with programs for everyone.

If one wants an accurate history of circumstances leading up to and facts about the actual school closings, they should visit the Moton Museum in Farmville. It contains very balanced presentations and lets the visitor decide on his own about our past without reading biased opinions.

Prince Edward County is a wonderful place to live, work and share our lives. Let us all continue to work together to improve our community, lifestyles and see where we can take it.

Scott Harwood, a Farmville businessman and a U.S. Air Force veteran, was born and reared in Prince Edward County. His email address is scotthsr@earthlink.net.