The Downward Slope of my Hometown

AMEN!^5! AND ALL THAT! YOUR POST SUMS IT ALL UP!!!

i'm glad to know i'm not the ONLY one that feels this way about Scotland Neck--i have some warm memories from there, but you are right--people MUST GET INVOLVED!

i wasn't raised there, only lived there for three years and most of my family have moved or passed on with the exception of my great grandfather--what a sad place...

kudos and more kudos to your post--on point!

I grew up in SN back in the 80's when everyone knew each other, and as a kid I could go to sleep on my front porch swing without worry of being kidnapped. Could leave the doors open without worry and I enjoyed going out and hanging with my friends.

With that said, I visited SN last year and it has a hollow feel to it. Even the nostalgia had left the town. It was very sad to see the town i grew up in wasted away like it was.

CJ, the complexion's all changed since you were there. There's a different group in control now.
All their complaining and now they are in control. The good ole' boys are out.
Anything positive? It's a scary place.
SN will never be as nice.

I grew up in SN and it was a wonderful place to live, the Scout Pond, Salisbury House, the original old Scotland Neck High School, the sock hops, oh, it was great. When I was a kid, we played out until dark and did not have to worry about anything because, if something bad happened your parents did find out, we looked after one another. Do you remember running behind the mosquito machine, not a smart thing to do, but we just had fun.

The town needs property owners of the building on Main Street, to fix up the properties, paint them in Williamsburg colors, plant flowers, hang awnings and make it pleasant to look at. Fix up the windows in the empty stores, put pictures of pets that need to be adopted, use wildlife pictures, create a senior citizen visiting center, where games can played, books read, crafts done, be creative. At one time, I thought a certain amount of the electric bill was going in a fund to beautify the town, where is that money and where are the account records showing how it has been spent. Surely, SN has enough people who care to volunteer to help clean up and beautify the town and take it back, own it. I am sure someone will say we do not have the money, well it is time you find the money and get to work, or you will not have a town, as is now.

There needs to be a town curfew to clear Main Street after 11:00 PM and no loitering of any kind permitted anywhere. An earlier curfew needs to be established for children 16 and younger.

Property owners in SN need to be fined for the way most of the rentals look. The town should create laws that need to be enforced, not just on paper and get these slums cleaned up. No old cars in the yard, no furniture except porch furniture on porches, all the junk and trash cleaned up out of the yards. The property owners need to paint these houses and fix them up; I really hold them accountable for attracting drug dealers and criminals. Abandoned houses or houses on can not live in due to structural conditions need to be torn down and not left empty for crack addicts to use as a drug house. Give the property owner notice and if he/she does not comply, stick them with a fine. All the fine money can go into a town improvement fund.

As for the drugs, I would think if SN really wanted to clean up drugs, they could contact other agencies and do a sweep of the area and keep doing it until the drug dealers and users get tired and move on. Drug activity is an on going problem, which needs persistency to achieve positive results. The pressure has to be applied in SN as well as other communities experiencing the something. The criminals are running Scotland Neck and the law-enforcement is not equipped to handle it alone.

I am sure these things have been discussed, however, discussions do not get results, actions do!

Wilson Neighbor--you have some really great points in your post! Would it be okay with you if i quoted some of this in a documentary i am working on based on the town of Scotland Neck?
please feel free to contact me at couleidos@yahoo.com

thanks!

Wilson Neighbor wrote:

I grew up in SN and it was a wonderful place to live, the Scout Pond, Salisbury House, the original old Scotland Neck High School, the sock hops, oh, it was great. When I was a kid, we played out until dark and did not have to worry about anything because, if something bad happened your parents did find out, we looked after one another. Do you remember running behind the mosquito machine, not a smart thing to do, but we just had fun.
The town needs property owners of the building on Main Street, to fix up the properties, paint them in Williamsburg colors, plant flowers, hang awnings and make it pleasant to look at. Fix up the windows in the empty stores, put pictures of pets that need to be adopted, use wildlife pictures, create a senior citizen visiting center, where games can played, books read, crafts done, be creative. At one time, I thought a certain amount of the electric bill was going in a fund to beautify the town, where is that money and where are the account records showing how it has been spent. Surely, SN has enough people who care to volunteer to help clean up and beautify the town and take it back, own it. I am sure someone will say we do not have the money, well it is time you find the money and get to work, or you will not have a town, as is now.
There needs to be a town curfew to clear Main Street after 11:00 PM and no loitering of any kind permitted anywhere. An earlier curfew needs to be established for children 16 and younger.
Property owners in SN need to be fined for the way most of the rentals look. The town should create laws that need to be enforced, not just on paper and get these slums cleaned up. No old cars in the yard, no furniture except porch furniture on porches, all the junk and trash cleaned up out of the yards. The property owners need to paint these houses and fix them up; I really hold them accountable for attracting drug dealers and criminals. Abandoned houses or houses on can not live in due to structural conditions need to be torn down and not left empty for crack addicts to use as a drug house. Give the property owner notice and if he/she does not comply, stick them with a fine. All the fine money can go into a town improvement fund.
As for the drugs, I would think if SN really wanted to clean up drugs, they could contact other agencies and do a sweep of the area and keep doing it until the drug dealers and users get tired and move on. Drug activity is an on going problem, which needs persistency to achieve positive results. The pressure has to be applied in SN as well as other communities experiencing the something. The criminals are running Scotland Neck and the law-enforcement is not equipped to handle it alone.
I am sure these things have been discussed, however, discussions do not get results, actions do!