What can a council member do about crime in her district? Ask Maren DeWeese. For years, her neighborhoods have avoided the Bluffs park on Scenic Highway because of sexual activity happening at that park. It was a known “hook up” spot for homosexual men, who openly had sex in the park. Like the corner of A & Jackson streets, the Pensacola Police Department did occasional raids, but it didn’t stop the activity and mothers with small children avoided the area.
When Maren DeWeese took office, she made “taking back the Bluffs” an issue. She led a volunteer work detail that cleaned up the underbrush around the park and removed the hiding places. She requested more patrols in the area.
Jewel Cannada-Wynn & Ronald Townsend could show similar leadership. And, of course, Commissioner Marie Young could call for a joint county-city task force to clean up her district. She is widely praised for not voting to rebid the Maplewoods Drainage project to help Roads, Inc….won’t it be great if she was praised for voting to do something – like cleaning up A & Jackson St.
