Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

People living in the area of South College alongside the railroad tracks are fed up with the overgrown lots that litter the neighborhood from the tracks to their backyards. There are many lots, neighbors say, that have been neglected for years, and not much has been done about them. As one drives down Sherrouse St. toward its end, large lots with high grass can be seen leading to the railroad tracks, where even alongside the tracks, one can see very tall weeds inches from the tracks. In one particular instance, Mary Goss Nursing Home can hardly be seen, and walking across its lots is considered a dangerous hazard. The District 3 residents have reached out to Monroe city officials voicing their concerns. Several lots have been cut, but the grass remains very high. One resident who is wary about people walking from across the tracks by a large drainage ditch recalls a moment when she stepped outside to get her newspaper, only to have someone knock on her door when she came back inside. The woman said that she didn't see anyone when she walked on her driveway, as the incident had her very concerned for her safety because the individual knocked on her door just as she was turning the lock on her door. She believes that whoever it was, had to come across one of those lots. There are no houses facing the neighbors' backyards, only lots covered with overgrown grass/weeds. There is also a large ditch with culverts that the railroad tracks travel over that has water in it. That very dig was once a temporary home for a large alligator that somehow wound up in a neighbor's yard only a few feet away. The woman and her neighbors know that the property behind their homes is owned by the city of Monroe, Ouachita Parish, railroad companies, and private individuals who have let the properties deteriorate. They are asking that city, parish, and railroad officials be held accountable and that they cooperate between themselves and take responsibility for maintaining their respective properties. The neighbors want to know why railroad tracks on the northside of Monroe are kept clean going through neighborhoods but not on their end of town. One example mentioned is a railroad track that runs across Forsythe Ave. through several northside neighborhoods where the grass is always cut. As taxpayers, they want to be treated just like their northside neighbors when it comes to overgrown lots that stretch all the way past Carroll High School. They have been frustrated with how slow city hall moves when it comes to doing things in their area and that Councilwoman Juanita Woods needs help from Mayor Friday Ellis.

The neighbor that had a stranger knock on her door said that crime is also an issue. She said that on New Years' Eve 2020, a stray bullet came through the window of her sunroom. She shared that the bullet went through the window over her chair through a Christmas tree in the room. The bullet continued traveling through her utility room into her computer, where it lodged into some files inside of a file cabinet. If she had been standing up at the moment of impact in the window, there would have been a graveside service for her. The police said that the bullet came from a high-power weapon, and she still hasn't fully recovered from that incident. There have been sounds of other gunshots in the area, with one person being robbed, as she now has security all over her home. They have decided to continue their pursuits of improving their area, and that city hall will continue to hear from them over the lots and the abandoned, rundown houses in their neighborhood that make their part of the community look bad. They have decided to stay hopeful but wonder how the city's motto is "Oneroe" when it clearly seems to be two.