In Which We Respond to Comments

By Kathy T. and Ivy

First (and again), we want to thank the folks who read this blog. We believe your thoughts, concerns, jokes, comments are very important and we welcome them. It shows that you have a vested interest in this community called La(space)Vergne. But we do want to address some comments made this past week. Shall we?

From the post Skate Park Meeting in which we wrote about an upcoming meeting where the city and citizens would talk about skate park concerns, a lively discussion occurred. The first two comments were very informative where John shared about some things coming up in the city (thank you, John & "View") ... but then the comments moved to other things:

From Anonymous:

If you want to see ducks, go to the boat ramps. There is a major greenway system in the plans, but sidewalks come before tree-lined walkways. If you want to walk in the woods, try the trail beside Hurricane Creek Boat Ramp. If you want something to piss you off, note that hunters are still allowed to hunt on the property because it's protected by the TWRA. I can't beleive people are shooting guns at wild animals so close to your homes. That's crazy.

WHAT? Hunters are allowed in the stretch of land next to Stones River Road? That IS crazy. We want to invite that anonymous writer (or anyone else with fire in their heart about the subject) to do some research on that and write a column about it for us. I mean, dang.

Next we got another comment, again Anonymous:

We need another baseball field like we need more houses in Lake Forest Estates.

What they need to do is build a real basketball court that is built to specs and goals that are to the right height.

That's fair feedback. A real voice in the community expressing that there is a real need. Good idea for a basketball court.

Now here's where the comments turn a little testy, again Anonymous:

If you have a bitch call the Parks and Rec department, if your a citizen. If not, shut up. This site is getting so negative that a lot of people I know who work for and live in the city have stoppped looking at it. It's just a bunch of neysayers bitching about things they could make a real change on if they contacted the right people.

Okay there are several statements we'd like to address. First you are only allowed to call the Parks and Rec department if you're a citizen. Fuhgetaboutit otherwise (apparently you should just "shut up"). Second, this site is getting so negative? We've posted about senior citizens getting tax help, road closures (something people really need to know), about a family who needs help after a fire, about a lottery prize winner, about ball teams forming, about spring break and a trip to the Frist Center, about a new post office not being built yet. Oh wait... maybe that one thing about the post office is negative. But ... now listen carefully because I have a secret ... our community is not just filled with people who skip along handing out pretty flowers and throwing happy pixie dust. This town is great, but it isn't all positive. We DO share a lot of positive information here, but we also link to articles from news organizations that are of interest to the community. That's how we've always been, that's how we'll continue. And we also have opinions that we'll share... for example Ivy just posted ideas on how to raise revenue for the city.

Which brings us to our next point (and back to the "Anonymous" comment):

This site is getting so negative that a lot of people I know who work for and live in the city have stoppped looking at it.

Dear, dear Anonymous... you are always screeching about how we should pick up the phone and call people if we have a concern. We want to introduce you to the concept that reading this and other blogs are fantastic ways for city officials to learn about what people in the community are thinking about. If a city official has this type of feedback tool that's he/she is aware of that's only a click of the mouse away, and he/she refuses to look at it - then he/she is foolish. Further, maybe we should consider replacing that person(s) in the next election ... I don't know about you, but we want people in office who are willing to listen to what the people in their community think, regardless of the forum in which it is voiced.

Next, let's move on to more Anonymous comments:

If they patrol Clayton Estates more often, the criminal element will more than likely leave.....and migrate to Lake Forest. Do you REALLY WANT THAT?

I'm just sayin'....

This post was followed by another Anonymous post:

Hello...Clayton Estates is private property i.e. -- it used to at least have its own security guard and local and county police were not allowed to patrol.

And another:

no offense to the La Vergne police. But, do you think if they patrol the trailer parks more often, the crime will be kept to a minimum and maybe the "bad guys" would leave??

And finally (from Michael):

We also have way too many trailer park zones. A La Vergne cop once told me if they could pick up Clayton mobile home park and move it out of the city, we would have virtually no crime problem.

Kathy called a friend who lives in Clayton Estates (and please note that there are a LOT OF GOOD people who live there). She said that the old management did not allow police to patrol, but they've had new management for several several months now. The mobile home park has removed speed bumps, at the request of the city, to allow patrol cars easier access to patrol. There is a city police officer who lives there, as well, so the residents often call upon that officer with concerns and problems. She said that a lot of the "riff-raff" is no longer there since the new management came on board, but doesn't know what will happen once summer gets here because sometimes school-aged children do cause trouble. She also said (and are you sitting as you read this?) that most of the problems they have now "come from Lake Forest." Oh snap.

We do not want to appear to be elitist and try to make one neighborhood look superior to another. What we do want is what Ivy said in the comment:

LMAO@ the 7:48 am anonymous. No, we'd like the police to have enough funding to do their jobs and keep the criminal element out of La Vergne. Sheesh.

Let me say that again: We want the police to have adequate funding so that they can do their jobs and keep the criminal element out of ALL of La Vergne. The police have set up a gang unit and we applaud them for that. They do patrol Clayton Estates, maybe they should step up more patrols, but the management has invited them to come in and has made it easy for them to come in. Some officers have sometimes been over-zealous in their jobs, but the majority of our police force are very fine, caring, dedicated individuals. Try not to let the one or two rotten apples spoil the image for the rest of the force. And while we're at it, did anyone ever hear why our police chief quit?

Thankfully, that's all we have. Go ahead and comment, but we ask you to not do it anonymously. If you want your opinion to be given any credibility, sign your name. We're battening down the hatches now. Buh-bye.