I go to just about every city and county board meeting in this community and I am pleased with what I saw at Monday’s Board of Mayor and Commissioner’s meeting.
After years of talking about how to go about cleaning up Clarksdale, it appears enough political pressure has been put on city officials by you to make them take a step toward making your city a nicer place to live.
There is a story on Page One of your Clarksdale Press Register about the city’s intention to hire a local man as a consultant who has been bugging our Mayor and Commissioners about this issue.
He would be charged with finding ways to do what is right for all of us and make our neighbors, who are not being good neighbors, clean up their property.
While I look with disdain on our elected leaders who didn’t have the intestinal fortitude to do something, I will champion any citizen who steps up at a city or county board meeting and says they will do the job.
It is no secret our Mayor has stood in the way of cleaning up Clarksdale. He prided himself in saying he was elected by people who wanted to park junk cars in their yard. He talked about not enforcing the ordinances on the books because he was worried about imposing a fine on a single mother looking to pay the bills. Mayor Chuck Espy also presented three wimpy and politically correct solutions, but they never got traction with voters or our Commissioners. And last but not least, Espy - and this newspaper -have said our mayor has more important things to do.
So I say let’s give this guy a shot.
Justice for all
I hope every ordinance and law on the books in Clarksdale is enforced.
I was stopped by one of Clarksdale’s finest shortly after I moved here and was told I needed to get a car tag from Coahoma County. That officer was right and I quickly went to the Courthouse and paid for a Coahoma County tag.
I mowed my yard this week in sweltering 90-degree heat. Not because I wanted to, but because it is my small part in making my corner of Clarksdale look nice. You can call it my civic duty.
I agree with Espy that slapping a citation on a single mom could be severe, but I also believe if that single mom will tell city officials her plight, some church, some neighbor, some civic organization, SOMEBODY in this this town with true compassion in their heart can be found to help fix her car, mow her yard and possibly do repairs to her house.
Maybe our city officials - who are some of the highest paid in the state - would be willing to go into their own pocket and remedy the situation.
A place we all call home
Let’s step back a little bit.
Clarksdale has too many abandoned and burned out houses. It hurts property values and drives down the ad valorum taxes the city uses to make things better around here.
Clarksdale has too many abandoned cars in yards, and even worse, parked with flat tires on the street. They are dangrous and have already been rumored to have caused an auto accident that killed a young man.
The board of Mayor and Commissioners should be sued if they don’t make the streets of Clarksdale safe for all concerned.
And last but not least, Clarksdale should be a place we point to with pride. Let’s do the right thing, the tough job, the best things for this place we all call home.
Floyd Ingram is Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. It was not easy for him to write this column. Call him at 662-627-2201 if you think he did the right thing.
