SPRINGDALE -- Walt Williams has lived in the city for almost 30 years and said he thinks two recent homicides near downtown have diminished the reputation of the surrounding neighborhood.
Police believe the two fatal shootings were gang-related. The first occurred at 32 Applegate Drive on March 13, and the second was blocks away at 609 Savage St. on April 11.
WEB WATCH
To see the locations of the two recent homicides in Springdale, go to www.google.com/maps. Then type either “32 Applegate Drive Springdale” or “609 Savage St. Springdale” into the search box in the upper left corner.
Killed were Fabian Rodriguez, 18, on March 13 and Jimmy Rodriguez, 20, on April 11. A 14-year-old boy and 21-year-old woman were also injured by shots March 13.
Police have arrested a juvenile and four men in the crimes.
The neighborhood, which is just south of the downtown area, is a "hot spot" for crime in Springdale, said Lt. Derek Hudson, public information officer with the Springdale Police Department. He explained that "hot spot" crime areas gain a bad name from a small percentage of people who are responsible for most of the crime.
Williams said he thinks it's natural for people to react to a homicide by thinking the area where it happened is unsafe. But residents and leaders "can't forfeit that area," because it would cause the neighborhood to "disintegrate," he said.
Fixing the reputation will also take help from residents in that area, Williams said.
"I think people need to take ownership of their neighborhoods and communities," he said.
Jesse Core, chief executive officer of Core Brewing and Distilling Co., said he hopes to have a pub open in the former Ryan's Clothing building on Emma Avenue downtown this fall. He said he's not worried about the recent violence having a negative influence on the downtown area.
The recent homicides shouldn't scare people away from going downtown, he said, and he's confident the gang violence issue will be resolved quickly. Investors in the area such as himself will help to push out the negative element, he said.
"The way you remedy a negative element is to push it out with a positive element," he said.
Mayor Doug Sprouse said revitalization efforts should bring more people downtown, and places that are frequented by a lot of people have less crime. He said he believes investment will increase property values and create better aesthetics, which can also help reduce crime.
Hudson spoke about the "broken window theory," which explains the situation of a broken window and no one fixing it. He said that sends a message that people don't care.
Development downtown, however, shows people care about the area, he said.
"I think it does nothing but help as far as crime," he said.
Sprouse said he doesn't think the momentum of efforts to improve downtown will be "derailed" by recent violence. He said he doesn't think the people of Springdale will let the recent crime affect that area.
Williams and his wife, Amelia, manage Live Springdale, an account on Facebook and Twitter for promoting the city. He said the violence hasn't posed a challenge to his efforts and that he can't let it "dominate" news about the city. About 95 percent of the posts on the accounts are about positive aspects of Springdale, he said.
However, Team Springdale, a local group that promotes the city via social media, has been challenged in its efforts since the homicides, said Amber Perrodin, who co-founded Team Springdale with her husband, Jonathan.
"I feel like we took 10 steps forward and eight steps back," she said.
Jonathan Perrodin said they've changed their promotion tactics slightly to face the challenge. It's a matter of redirecting people's attention to the positive aspects of the city, he said. It's about keeping the community together, moving forward and staying positive, he said.
Team Springdale has had some references to the homicides on their social media accounts, but it's been for the purpose of drawing people together, Perrodin said.
The homicides are "all the more reason that we need to come together as a team," he said.
A photo posted on the group's Instagram account Friday morning showed a sketch of a bottle on its side with liquid spilling out. Words inside the bottle read "This beautiful city," while words written in the spilled liquid read "is real, not perfect." A caption under the photo mentioned a planned peace march.
"We just did this little sketch in response to this incredible community," the caption read. "We're all humans, trying to do our best. The amount of people that are sitting at home with broken hearts over the recent activities in our town, unsure what to do, now have a small, but significant solution -- join us next Tuesday at 6pm at Luther George Park and together we can wrap our arms around our community."
The violence has been within select groups fighting among themselves, and it hasn't been random, Perrodin said. He said he doesn't feel unsafe in Springdale.
"I'm not going to let the incidents of a few people define the city," he said.
NW News on 04/19/2015