Steve Mensing, Editor
♦ Ever since the conversation in Salisbury, N.C. turned to the “disturbing demographic” concerning the city’s formerly hidden crime, poverty, and poor education statistics many folks here are slowly coming awake.
First they learned of the city’s soaring 28% poverty which many in the city government, true to form, began to deny and suppress. Then came the State Education READY Report letting us know our city schools were poor performers on the important composite scores. Knowledge of the depth of crime here was long suppressed–it seemed only law enforcement officers and a few savvy citizens recognized the city had a major crime problem. A few citizens here could read the city’s FBI crime statistics and knew about the city’s gang life, violent crimes, shootings and murder, and of course drugs like heroin, meth, and crack.
Now the cat is way out of the bag over in the city’s West End. Now everyone knows about gangs, drugs, and gun violence thanks to the Chamber community organizing over in the West End.
It’s never good for any community to hide its darker aspects under a basket. Without the populace in Salisbury knowing what is going on, they can not respond and solve challenges. For years the outside likely knew better than we did about our crime, education, and poverty. They could read it in real estate data bases and by examining the FBI statistics and the former State Education ABC Report Card.
Okay today’s the question is: “Why Do People Avoid a Small City and Why People Leave?”
The Big Three:
• People avoid small cities or leave them due crime and a sense of lack of safety. Salisbury feels very unsafe to many people in Salisbury. More are becoming aware that gangs, violence, and drugs: heroin, meth, and crack loom large in many neighborhoods. No one is unaffected by crime and a lack of safety. Neighborhoods all over report break-ins, simple street assaults, robberies, and burglaries. The city has its share of murders this year, likely to surpass 2013’s which was 5. Businesses looking to possibly coming here do an about face when they read our statistics.
• People with school age children avoid or leave small cities due to poorly performing public schools. In Salisbury the State Education READY Report’s composite scores show our city’s public schools to be poor performers in comparison with other schools in the county and in North Carolina. Further the schools are challenged with gang activity, discipline, and drugs as well as youngsters plagued by literacy challenges.
• People avoid small cities or leave them due to poverty which also affects crime and poorly performing schools. High poverty levels like Salisbury’s 28% poverty chase businesses away and often impact the schools and their performance in multiple negative ways.
http://rowanfreepress.com/salisbury-nc-statistics/
Important But Not quite as problematic as the Big Three:
• People avoid small cities or leave them due to a lack of jobs. An area possessing few good paying job opportunities starts loosing people who are forced to commute elsewhere for jobs.
• People avoid small cities or leave them because they lack important amenities such as nearby shopping. Less of a problem in an age when many people take to the internet to shop for bargains. Still folks don’t appreciate driving a good distance up the interstate to shop–they’d rather stay closer to home.
• People avoid small cities or leave them because of a breakdown in city services. People desire to live in a place with a fully staffed fire-fighting department and police departments. They also desire city property has some semblance of upkeep and that trash pickup be done in a timely manner.
• People avoid small cities or leave them when their neighborhood gets impacted with blight, abandoned buildings, vacant buildings, and toxic properties. Many persons are disturbed by unsightly surroundings that may draw in addicts and squatters.
• People avoid small cities and leave them when a city is known to be corrupt. A city packed with cronies and parasites costs the taxpayers plenty.
• People avoid cities and leave them when the city’s finances are running on fumes and the possibility of a major bond downgrading looms.
