March 7, 2004

By Staff
Local roads in shameful state
To the editor:
I was born in Meridian at Anderson Hospital in the early 1940s and have lived here all my life. I have worked for the public and farmed since I was big enough to reach the gas pedal on the farm pickup or tractor. So as you can see I have driven for a long time and in all kinds of situations.
I must tell you that the kind of driving I have to do today is the hardest. The streets and roads in this area are a shame and disgrace. My wife and I recently purchased a new car knowing it would have to run on the roughest streets and roads ever.
If you have bought a vehicle in the last few years you are well aware of the cost. To subject an expensive car or truck to potholes, broken pavement or many other obstacles we have here in our city and county is a shame.
My taxes haven't come down but have gone up a little each year and our streets and roads have gotten a little worse each year. What has happened? Is it the strong mayor and weak council or the county's unit system may be the fault, or perhaps it is due to the fact that our elected officials are not seeing to the things they were elected to do. Instead, they are worrying about something else, like the garbage collection in the county or the gas company digging up the new pavement that we don't have.
The garbage pickup has been voted on and it was decided to keep the green boxes so all the supervisors need to make that system work. Period.
Or maybe the city should have schedule of work by the gas company and others so no streets that were re-surfaced would be dug up after paving but before paving.
Meanwhile we pay taxes for something we are not getting smooth streets and roads. It may shock to you to think about it, but there are people in our county that still live on mud roads. We have plenty of those in Lauderdale County as well as some in the city of Meridian.
Pot holes in the 21st century are, or should be, a thing of the past.
We are paying for good roads and streets and are not getting them. Where do our ad valorem taxes go? Where do our bridge taxes go? Where does our road maintenance money go. Not on streets and roads.
As a taxpayer I demand to know the answer to these questions. We need to hold the board of supervisors and city council responsible for doing the job they were elected to do and fire them all and get someone in office that will see to these streets and roads that are ruining my car and truck every day I have to drive on them.
Why do we have to borrow money to fix something that should not be broken? Or after the money is in the bank in Meridian are the streets still not being fixed? I don't know. Does anyone? City and county officials please advise.
Ken Kinard
Meridian