What readers are saying online
‘(1) No wise investor would spend money to construct new buildings between dilapidated structures. The blight next door discourages businesses from locating there, and there’s a high risk of property damage caused by fire or structural failure in the adjacent buildings.
(2) Some of the surrounding properties should be condemned as unfit for human occupancy and torn down. The city doesn’t enforce its own codes against the ‘bad’ property owners who have let their buildings fall into such disrepair that they may never be saved.
(3) The city has made rehabilitating downtown buildings a bureaucratic and expensive process, so the overall situation probably will not improve in the near future. If our downtown area was a tourist attraction, property owners might be more inclined to jump through all the hoops.
But McMinnville’s downtown doesn’t draw tourists like Savannah, Charleston, or even Nashville. I don’t see crowds of tourists in the summer walking up and down Main Street. What tourist is going to travel here to see beautiful new streets next to empty, boarded-up, crumbling buildings’?
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What readers are saying about the city and county combining their funding resources to build an indoor pool:
‘The city and county should work together to get a YMCA here that would have an indoor pool and gym and not obligate the local taxpayers to pay for it. I am all for a Y coming here.’
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‘The city and county work together ? Now that’s laughable!’
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‘Demand better education for your children. Enjoy the ride to the dump, and swim in the creek. Learn to prioritize.’
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What readers are saying about a man charged with filing down a dog’s teeth:
‘How in the world could a man be so cruel? I have always given anyone a benefit of doubt. I have always taken care of animals, sometimes when they weren’t even mine. I have taken the time to find its owner and if no one claimed it, would find it a good home.
Then this happens to Lucas. I don’t know what I would do if someone hurt my dog. I don’t think it would be pretty. I am just overwhelmed by this cruelty to Lucas. I am hoping this man goes to jail. No one in jail likes a child or animal abuser.
And please let Lucas go to someone who will love and appreciate him. He looks like such a wonderful husky. I read somewhere that a dog is the only friend a man has, that he can kick it and still be loved by that dog. A dog is so loyal and a steadfast companion. They can make me smile when I am at my lowest. My dog always knows when to come and just sit by me so I won’t be so lonely.’
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‘Maybe if Mr. Barnett was beaten within an inch of his life and submitted to having his teeth filed by someone much larger than him, he would halfway understand the stupidity and cruelty of his actions. I realize this is not to be, but I agree jail time is a must. This dog deserves a happy home.’