Taking pride in your hometown benefits everyone

By Roy Knox

I had a prominent local businesswoman approach me the other day with an issue that was dear to her. She was concerned about how we as a community have allowed the appearance of Pittsburg to degrade. She was worried this would negatively affect us while we were trying hard to attract new business and residents. Plus, it is somewhat of an embarrassment to have friends or business associates come to town and see our dirty laundry. I completely agreed with her. So, Debbie and I drove around and visited most of the neighborhoods and almost all the highways and county roads leaving town and we found a lot right. ETMC, the banks, the schools and the churches all got high marks. A majority of the businesses were good and some of the homes were exceptional, but there were several yards that were extremely bad. We actually made this little trip about two weeks ago before everything started turning green and you could see the trash against the fences. Overgrown bushes and lawns that needed mowing were probably the biggest culprits. Or, as least it was in our case. We are in the process of having our fence lines cleaned and cut back and it`s made a tremendous difference so for. I`m not going to tell you cleaning up is easy; it`s hard work, but it is well worth it. If you can`t do the work yourself then hire it done. If you can`t afford it, then maybe the Boy Scouts or a church group can take the job on as a project. I do know this, Pittsburg is town full of good people, and we just need to take a little more pride in the appearance of our town.

• Remember Miriam Carey? She is the woman who was shot by capital police last October. At first she was labeled a terrorist and when that didn`t fly, she was called mentally unbalanced. After the autopsy it was found she had no drugs in her body or at home that would suggest she was taking any, the story just went away. I watched as the Keystone (Capitol Police) Cops chased her around in slow motion (I doubt she ever drove above 30 mph) through the city before they shot her seven times. Where is the outcry for this woman? Where is the sympathy from President Obama? If Trayvon could have been his son, why couldn`t Miriam been his sister. Why isn`t Eric Holder all over this?

• Listen up! The annual meeting of the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorn football teams in Dallas is being changed from the “Red River Rivalry” to the “AT&T Red River Showdown.” I`m sure both schools received a lot of money to make it happen.

• Dave Letterman is retiring, I`m guessing he will be replaced by a younger person who won`t be any funnier than Dave. It doesn`t matter to me. I`m always asleep when that show is on.

• This is the time of year to prepare violent weather, locate a safe place in house where your family can ride out a storm if necessary.