Fayetteville destroying in the name of progress
What good are zoning regulations if they can be changed on a whim for developers with big bank accounts?
Thirteen years ago, I purchased a house on South Washington Avenue with the hope of retiring to Fayetteville at some point in my life. Well, life happened and now I am back on South Washington. I have been told South Fayetteville is “hot.”
It has taken a village to save my old house in South Fayetteville, and no, it is not to be branded SoFay or Southtown. It has always been South Fayetteville. Other houses in the neighborhood, or what is left of it, are being snapped up by developers who are purchasing the lots cheaply, tearing down old houses and then cramming too many new homes on small lots all because the Fayetteville City Council and Planning Commission allowed closer lot lines under the ruse that smaller lot lines would prevent urban sprawl. The same entities also allowed the smaller lot lines under the ruse that affordable housing stock is limited.
Now, we have 75 houses being built in a wetland up the street (The Houses at Willow Bend) and 300-plus houses being built down the road on 15th Street. I know change is inevitable — just look at Dickson Street over the years — but in other parts of the country, the travesties happening in South Fayetteville would be called gentrification, and gentrification is a dirty word in most places.
I have worked very hard to achieve my piece of the American dream and it is beyond disappointing to see that dream float away in the smoke of the fire. Yes, I could sell and move out to the country as so many other Fayettevillians have done, but I am too attached to my piece of Fayetteville history. If I don’t save this old house, they will bulldoze it like so many others. Wake up, Fayetteville, and pay attention to what is going on in your neighborhood, even if it is on the poor side of town.
LISA MEEKS
Fayetteville
Not being ‘in country’
doesn’t diminish service
Last month, the country was giving out 50th anniversary lapel pins to any living military member, regardless of duty station. This means “in country,” “overseas” or “in the states.” I have read and heard that “in country” veterans were refusing to get their lapel pin because it was being given to all veterans who served in the military during the Vietnam War. Some of these “in country” veterans say, “if you weren’t in country, you are not a Vietnam veteran.”
I can, somewhat, see their point, but if they really think about it, everyone put in their time and served a valuable service during the war. Did everyone who trained them from the beginning serve “in country?” Did all the people who took care of them medically, fed them, or got them their gear serve “in country?” My guess is no, but they served a valuable service to those who did. These people did what they were told and went where the military needed them.
Look back at World War II. There were many people who stayed in the states but did a valuable service. People trained pilots to land on carriers in the Great Lakes. In Oklahoma, people taught bomber pilots to fly and many other “services” like this. They were all considered World War II veterans and received the Victory Medal when the war was over. Only the people who served “in country” received the Vietnam Service Medal and that’s the way it should be. It is a sign of your service in Vietnam.
The lapel pin is just a symbol of the anniversary of this war and a “thank you” for all who served during that time. It takes nothing away from those people who served “in country.” To think it does is petty.
GREGORY WEEKS
Springdale