Norman — Editor, The Transcript:
Have you driven around Norman looking around? Have you looked at the landscape? Have you seen the huge amount of trash everywhere? Norman has taken on the countenance of a landfill. Seriously. Take a look. And, I am not talking about out in the rural areas.
My family and I were driving just north of Lindsey, and the creek west of the Interstate there is completely trash filled. I’ve been paying attention around Norman lately to a lot of areas, too. I encourage you to do the same. You will find that I am not exaggerating in the very least.
Norman has become a pen. I came to Oklahoma in the early ’80s and I began coming to Norman as a teenager around 1984. I know Norman has grown greatly since then. But, I fell instantly in love with Norman because of its completely separate and spirited culture. I am not being snobby here. Places have their own “feel” and people go there just to visit because of the “feel” be it arts, dining, scenery, sports, etc. I fell in love with Norman with Jazz in June, the medieval fair, the University of Oklahoma sports and arts and its dining places. And along with it, Norman for a long time has not been a dump.
When I came to Oklahoma, I didn’t fall in love with a dump. I didn’t fall in love with a place that frankly, looks like a lot of the rest of Oklahoma. I am not really sure when the evolution began sliding down hill to where we are now. We need to clean it up. Community service road pickup projects aren’t going to get it done. Trash in creek beds, low water drainage areas, along business parking lots, Interstate frontage and shoulders, vacant and undeveloped properties — you can look and find it in all sorts of places.
I think that perhaps the media, the community leaders and politicians need to dedicate some pretty frequent attention to the matter. The issue can not just receive infrequent attention. A complete community blind eye has helped make Norman into a visible dump. We sure don’t look special any longer.
EDWARD AVERYT
Norman
