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— Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann to Nick Judin, see page 8
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Blight, Flooding Compromise Quality of Life by Kayode Crown
December 23, 2020 - January 5, 2021 • jfp.ms
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Kayode Crown
T
yrone Washington, a construction worker who lives on Rondo Street in Jackson’s Georgetown community, has nothing good to say about the political and administrative leadership of the capital city. He complains about lax rule in the city not keeping building lots in his area in good condition. He also says the City of Jackson does not remediate the poor drainage system that contributes to flooding. “Since we had these crummy laws and stuff that don’t force the people to keep their stuff clean,” Washington said in an interview with Jackson Free Press, “this is what you have.” His area has dozens of decrepit and uninhabited houses and plots filled with bushes and trees leaning on buildings, and some houses gutted by fire. Many buildings clearly show signs of longterm abandonment. Washington insists that the area’s condition “makes no sense.” He is discouraged from inviting people over to his house because of the level of degeneration. The government’s lack of attention to the area that he has witnessed year after year, he says, continues to make things worse. Washington said the empty lots indicate where houses used to stand but were later removed. Not regularly kept in a good state, the lots are now overgrown with bushes and trees. “Once they remove those houses, then it leaves these sections right here,” he said, pointing to an empty lot. “A lot of these sections that you see that are clean, they belong to the City, too. … The people next to them don’t want that stuff right beside their houses, so they clean (them) up to (an extent).” The area used to be a delight, Washington said, adding that his grandmother owned where he stays now. “We’ve been over here since the early seventies, late seventies,” he said. “This used to be beautiful.” Regular flooding has driven many people from the area as the water fills the street and flows up the houses’ steps, Washington added.
Decaying property dots many Jackson neighborhoods. Many have absentee owners including the State of Mississippi.
Washington said he would not buy the empty lot beside his house but takes the responsibility of cleaning it up because it reflects on him. “That has everybody thinking that I own it, but I don’t,” he said. “We won’t buy it or do anything with it ’cause when it rains, the creek gets so high, it looks like an ocean.”
Abandoned Due to Flooding As Washington took this reporter on a tour of the vicinity, he pointed to a house, emptied from flooding from Town Creek. The threat of flooding terrorizes the people in the area. Some manage the situation by lining the edges of the buildings on the outside with nylon sheeting.
“Look at them houses over there; nobody’s staying there. They can’t keep nobody in it,” he said. “They rent it (but) soon (that) spring rain comes.” “When the last time they’d been down here, removing these trees and debris (from the creek)?” he asked rhetorically. He added that his experience
JFP’s Welcoming 2021 Mad Libs Hot ____________ (noun), the end of the year is here! 2020 has been a(n) ____________ (adjective) year, but I’m ____________ (adjective) to see how 2021 shapes up for my ____________ (noun) and ____________ (noun). New Year’s wouldn’t have the same oomph without coming up with a few resolutions. Let’s brainstorm some ideas. I know! How about we fill those pesky potholes in the area with ____________ (noun)? Or perhaps we could plan to visit ____________ (place) sometime, once the coronavirus vaccine has been ____________ (adverb) disseminated. Then, we can take a self-guided tour of downtown Jackson and ____________ (verb) as we walk by the State Capitol or have a picnic and enjoy some ____________ (food) on Smith Park’s lawn. In any event, this year I will try to be better at ____________ (-ing verb) and strive to achieve my goal of ____________ (-ing verb). ____________ (plural noun) are going to make this year ____________ (adjective)!
