“Our vision is to clean up Sawdust” – Sawdust community leaders seek to fight crime in the area

In a meeting that began with prayer, community leaders in Sawdust and the surrounding area met in late September to discuss the problems facing the Sawdust community and how those problems could be solved.

The meeting, which was led by the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office and held at Greensboro Elementary School, featured speakers from the sheriff’s office, county commission, school board, and Sawdust community, as well as from the Florida A&M University Cooperative Extension Service.

“We wanted to bring the community of Sawdust together, to make sure that you - the community - is represented properly,” said Sheriff Morris Young, while kicking off the meeting and acknowledging the steps the Sawdust residents have taken themselves to reinvigorate the region.

“That is the first step,” he confirmed.

Sheriff Young recalled how, 17 years ago when he began his time in office, he met with the citizens of Sawdust to address a significant problem with crime.

“I promised you all that if I took office, I would do everything in my power to calm those fears that you had at the time. I believe we accomplished that,” said Young. “But of course, here we are 17 years later, and we again have concerns in our community.”

According to Sheriff Young, Sawdust has had more than its fair share of severe crime - including what Young believes to have been one of the most notorious gangs in Florida, the 773 Boyz Gang.

“When you talk about communities within Gadsden County, Sawdust has been one of those communities that has been very challenging to the sheriff’s office and the community itself,” said Young. “The reality is, we have people who are just going to break the law.”

With that in mind, Sheriff Young said that the community and sheriff’s office had a ‘challenge’ ahead of them both, when it came to Sawdust’s rejuvenation.

“We’ve got to come together and figure out what sort of message we are going to send,” said Young. “We should come together for a solution. We have to deal with these problems.”

Part of the problem, Young said, for Gadsden County law enforcement is the spread out nature of the communities - if a call comes in for Sawdust, deputies have to travel several miles in order to reach the point of the call.

Part of the solution, Sheriff Young (and others) believe is creating an environment is self-policing, and the sheriff’s office wanted to start by rebuilding and reclaiming the Sawdust Community Park.

“What has happened over the years, people have started using [the park] for the wrong reasons, and they take over the park,” said Young. “Who wants to send their children to a park where they know drug activity is going to occur? You don’t want your child to have any part in that park.”

Sawdust Community Outreach President Avis Woods, Sheriff Morris Young, School Board Representative Leroy McMillan, and designers with the Florida A&M University Cooperative Extension look over plans for a reinvigorated Sawdust Community Park.

According to Sheriff Young, Sawdust’s prevalence towards criminal activity can be attributed, partially, to its remote location in Gadsden County.

“In rural communities, criminals are going to find a remote area where they can get away with crime. Sawdust has been that community,” said Young. “We’ve had not only drugs, but dog fighting and other types of things happening, and they do it on a really high level.”

Sheriff Young adds that Sawdust’s crime bleeds into the surrounding communities in Gadsden and Leon Counties.

But he believes that having visibility, both from the community and law enforcement, will curb criminal activity.

“If it did it once, it will do it again.”

Jolene Williams, a community coordinator for Gadsden County, said that six months ago, she was tasked by Sheriff Young to investigate Sawdust and identify needs there.

“What I found was a bunch of loving, caring people who want their community back,” said Williams. “The crime rate has been bad out there. I called the sheriff and said, ‘the people are ready. We’ve got to bring something positive into that community.’”

Williams and the Sawdust community settled on letting that park be the first step in once again revitalizing the region.

“It’s not just restoring the park - we are conquering fear,” said Williams.

She has been working with designers from the Florida A&M University’s Cooperative Extension, as well as local gardening nurseries, to produce a plan that will be cost effective and agreeable to the community - and the September meeting was the first step at getting community input and involvement.

“Our goal is to get this park to where the seniors can enjoy it, and the babies can be safe,” said Williams. “So many doors will be opened up just by going into the park and making it a safe place.”

Sam Hand, one of the designers with the cooperative extension, spoke briefly during the meeting about the emphasis that Florida A&M University is putting on this project.

“A park is the center of something; it’s what we identify ourselves with. This will be the center of your community,” said Hand.

Some of the plans that extension designers are looking at incorporating is a small deputy station where deputies can stop in for a break, as well as the reconstructing the placement of the park’s drainage system (which cuts the park in half).

Designers are also configuring better courts for basketball, softball, shuffleboard, horseshoes, and checkers, as well as awnings for facilities and shading for the playground.

“This is going to be identified as a safe zone for the community,” encouraged Hand - then emphasised the need for community involvement in the design process.

“We can design anything - but it isn’t going to work without the community. You tell us what you want and where you’d like it, and we can design it,” Hand added.

Avis Wood, president of the Sawdust Community Outreach group, spoke to rally Sawdust residents towards involvement in this, and future, projects.

21 years ago, Woods said she learned about the problems facing Sawdust for the first time.

“I lived in the community, I worked in the department of corrections, and I didn’t know anything about [the gang activity] in Sawdust,” said Woods. “When a young man was gunned down in a backyard, I didn’t know what to do. I ran around in a tizzy, trying to figure out what to do.”

Woods said she, along with other members of the community and her church, began to organize the beginnings of the Sawdust Community Outreach.

In the years after the outreach’s organization, members of the community rallied for change in Sawdust.

But as the years passed, when the crime levels began to calm down, Woods said the outreach began to back off of their fervor - “and it’s happened again.”

Now, again, Woods says Sawdust experiences shooting through the night, a park that is not safe for senior citizens and families, reckless driving, the return of gang activity, and a resurgence of drug problems.

“It’s time we say enough is enough,” said Woods.

While the outreach dissolved briefly, it has remained active through recent years, and Woods says there is a need for new volunteers, new voices, and new commitments to getting Sawdust back in shape.

“We are going to come together to do what we need to do to cut down on crime in the community.”

Woods warned against people ignoring Sawdust’s problems and saying that those problems don’t directly affect them and their families.

“If it doesn't affect them, people don’t want to be bothered. But the first time it does affect you? You look for help from everyone else,” said Woods. “We need to do something - not just sit back and be stagnant. We cannot continue to pass the baton.”

Other speakers for the event included Leroy McMillain (school board) and Kimblin NeSmith (county commission), both who represent the region of Sawdust.

McMillan and NeSmith committed their efforts to helping rejuvenate Sawdust for kids and families.

“We are going to take the hood, and turn it back into a neighborhood,” said McMillan.

On Saturday, October 23, the Sawdust Community Outreach, Inc. will be hosting a blueprint session for design projects at the park . Citizens from Sawdust and the surrounding areas are invited to come out and give their recommendations, comments, and concerns for the park’s development . The meeting will be held at Sawdust Community Park, and will begin at 10 a.m. For more information, contact Cornethia Roberts at (850) 408-4157

Ashley Hunter - editor@gadsdencountytimes.com

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“Our vision is to clean up Sawdust” – Sawdust community leaders seek to fight crime in the area

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