What is Oneonta Like Now?

I used to live in Oneonta. I moved to an Atlanta suberb back in 1980. I did continue to visit friends in Oneonta until 1994. Can anyone tell me what major changes have happened since then. Is the city prospering?

no it has not change a bit the facts is it has gone backwards drugs have took over . most of the stores in oneonta have close walmart is the biggest store in oneonta they want get anything for us .

betty wrote:

no it has not change a bit the facts is it has gone backwards drugs have took over . most of the stores in oneonta have close walmart is the biggest store in oneonta they want get anything for us .

I'm so sorry to hear this. What a shame. I also posted some thoughts on the "Movie Theatre" discussion.

I really do believe a group of concerned people could make some positive changes in Oneonta. It will take some hard work though.

Oneonta has a very corrupt police dept. They let the true criminals get away with murder and dole out speeding tickets and eat at the Huddle House all day, Basically, this place STINKS and I'm outta here as soon as possible!!!

Do you think there's any hope for change? If you could get enough people together who care, maybe you could make a difference.

If you think oneonta is bad, you should go to a place called falkville just north of lacon trade day 1200 people and about ten cops in uniform and at least 3 county deptuties withen half mile of the police dept. You would think crime would be down but its just the opposit ,crime has gone up. All the cops are in their 30s and kinda like a gang,each watches out for the other. Rumer has it ,if you listen to gossip, that might change. Seems they may be looking at some kind of lawsuit, this may be worth watching, could be good for your town.

hello concerned bill , i think oneonta has changed some over the years more cafes more gas stations so it has grew some , drugs are a big concern there as in the whole blount county now , the hispanic population, has really grown, crime in blount is a major concern now , i understand that there was a major drug bust in oneonta last week nothing offical , just rumor, thats about all the news we get here is rumor u know , when so many things start happening here its a sign of bad times for us. the sherrif acussed of not nice things with women, and left in office , till matter settled i think he should of have been put out with pay till matter settled, they say he got drunk and recked the sherrif vehickle he was driving ,thts a nother rumor , talk is cheap , unless its the truth, will we ever know maybe, one thing for sure we know one of our county commissioners got mad and assulted a state troper got a slap on wrist and still in office here , that is for sure, a guy here came up hung over at the edith cheney street house , she was sent to rehab, for a year then came back and she was charged with reckless murder, what ever that is , he was her 18 19 year old live in boyfriend according to the paper, . a young man here got drunk and killed two people here auto accident, i understand he got 18 months in jail , another another done the same thing got life in prison.

Blount news....I have noticed that if you "grew up here" your treatment by the police, etc is different, and better. I got physically abused by one of Oneonta's Police, my lawyer has the proof. This place stinks all around. I'm outta here as soon as possible.

sick of oneonta wrote:

Blount news....I have noticed that if you "grew up here" your treatment by the police, etc is different, and better. I got physically abused by one of Oneonta's Police, my lawyer has the proof. This place stinks all around. I'm outta here as soon as possible.

I'm sorry you feel that way. It must be really hard living somewhere you're so happy. Many years ago I lived in Ashville. There was a police officer there that had a really bad reputation. He was well known to physically abuse prisoners.

now our taxes has come in the mail our house appraise at the highest it has ever been i thought houses had gone down i really dont think it woujd do any good to object to it it made my taxes go up and my insurance to go up yet they are saying there is no new taxes oneonta should be check by the govement some how i dont belive i could sell my house what they appraise it at. when they say the housing market is so bad what do you people think out there

taxes will probally be higher this year for all of us , lord does it never end , i dont know how much they think we should have to give them, how about the 15.00 dollars more for the car tag , property taxes up , i understand that a road usage tax will go in next year i beleive , where u have to pay so much for ever mile u drive , u have to sign a paper stateing how many miles a year u drive , ithink this will be all the u.s, wide ,

Concerned Bill Arp Mom wrote:

<quoted text>
I'm sorry you feel that way. It must be really hard living somewhere you're so happy. Many years ago I lived in Ashville. There was a police officer there that had a really bad reputation. He was well known to physically abuse prisoners.

Gosh, make that "unhappy." I guess I was in too big of a hurry typing.

Sorry.

betty wrote:

no it has not change a bit the facts is it has gone backwards drugs have took over . most of the stores in oneonta have close walmart is the biggest store in oneonta they want get anything for us .

Actually, the facts are... Oneonta has come a long way. The city is growing and is currently up to 6600+ in population. Home building rose last year and the "Greystone" subdivision was selling new homes between $150k to $240k. The former Jonas restaurant that was converted to the landmark is now gone and a new CVS pharmacy sits on the main square now. Charlie B's is still in business and located on 6th street. There are several new restaurants including McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Hardees, Taco Bell, Guthries, Capt. D's, Jack's and several specialty restaurants. Lots of Birmingham families are choosing Oneonta as their home. The city school (last heard) was 6th in the state for education and football state champs 4 years ago. As far as the police dept., it is expanded to over 14+ officers and additional employee staff. Drugs are everywhere, but this city is NOT absorbed with them. I have a relative in the police department and some of them are young, but they are under good management. The new Limestone golf course is a 5 million dollar+ course and Heritage is about 2 million. This is a nice city to live in. It's nestled in the valley away from Birmingham crime, but small enough to enough the local folks. There are a lot of great people here. Don't give up on Oneonta. Everyone should judge Oneonta as a whole and not by a bad personal experience. Come back and visit... we would love to have you!

As far as all the stores closing, over 90% of all downtown stores are filled with specialty merchants and stylists.

For a city so bad... why are there over 20 restaurants, 2 elite subdivisions, a new medical center under construction, a new hospital (10 years ago), 5 new strip malls, and lots of growth!

One last thing... the property taxes are not a reflection of Oneonta. Property taxes are assessed by the county and not the city. Also, the so called, "corrupt" sheriff is NOT, DEFINITELY NOT, a reflection of the city. He is a county elected official and NOT a city employee. Oneonta just suffers because his office is located in this city.

glad to here oneonta is doing well u guys sound real up town , i realize that ever time i shop there prices are high, and the taxes u guys get on the ever dollar spent there are are probally mounting up to a lot of money, drugs i understand are bad, ive got a i wonder about all these people moving here from big cites . to get there kids out of the crime zone , i think they just bring more crime with them in some cases, its getting a lot worse in all the county ,i read posted on a forum some where that if the people of blount county , stoped trading there that your town would probally not be able to sustain it self and u guys would fold , what do u think about that statement , dont u all get 10 cents on the dollar ,

Hey folks, I just heard that someone was not happy
with OPD, and I wanted to attempt to clear the air
for "wondering" and "concerned bill arp mom". The City of Oneonta is in great shape compared to most any city our size. We have people moving here everyday because the crime rate is so low, we
have an excellent school system, and the unemployment rate is lower than the state and federal %. Unfortunately, there are naysayers, doubters and drama queens that would have you believe otherwise, but Oneonta is the best town to live in I've seen. Come form your own opinion.
And please understand; for everyone who is not happy with OPD, there are twice as many that are. We can't please everyone; I wish we could. But we do try to care for those that obey the law and those that can't care for themselves.

It's really great to here some positive input. I really enjoyed living in Oneonta (and Ashville before that). I do believe that sometimes when you have people moving from high crime cities into low crime cities, it can have an adverse reaction. I've seen that happen where I live now (a suberb of Atlanta). But I'm very happy to here that some of you feel that Oneonta is doing well. I have very good memories of your home town and really hope things continue to get better.

all of the resturant is fast food and as for the hospital so many people wont go there after they have been there one time. as for the police they may be young and have good traing but no body is doing anything about the drugs and job are not here in oneonta no grocery stores but hometown market as for the tag 1500dollors i will not vote for it nothin for the young to do we should try to bring good dr here in oneonta to stay and not come one day a week i know we seem to complain alot but we can do better and we need something beside strip malls that will soon be empty becuse the things that is in them does not sell what about giving us a goodstore to shop at

Betty I agree....I never eat out in Oneonta except for Charlie B's and Charlie Bottcher is a great guy...they have a lovely menu on Fri and Sat nights. Otheriwse, the food ois garbage here. And you annot find gourmet items at the stores!! Guys I am moving back to Bham in 2 weeks and I am Sooooooooo Happy!!!!!!!!!!