I must be experiencing déja vu, because I seem to recall addressing the neglect of the landscape/mowing along city roads/ highways about this time last spring.

I was encouraged when the city struck a deal with MDOT,  where MDOT agreed to fund the City of Natchez for in-town highway median mowing.

If I recall, a mowing contractor from Ferriday won the bidding process in maintaining in-town highway medians and right of ways. My question is: What happened? Did MDOT back out after one season?

Once again, it’s supposedly one of our biggest tourism months, and area road ways look like those in a third world country with crumbling asphalt, potholes, poorly lined roads, weed infested medians and rusted light poles lining D’Evereux Drive.

Visitors can now return to their home state or country and tell all how unkept, and poverty stricken Natchez looks. Not very good publicity.

There are thousands of other destinations they could have visited and spent their hard earned money. There are other areas that do a much better job of presenting themselves and therefore evoke civic pride.

Why can’t area inmates be supervised, and take over the mowing, weeding, edging? Is it against state law?

The mowing situation has been an issue for as long as I have resided here (25 years).  It poses a safety hazard when one has difficulty pulling out into traffic with views blocked by over grown grass and weeds.

It has become an annual complaint for many regarding the poor maintenance issue.

People visiting for the first time or just passing through on area highways must leave with a very negative opinion. There has to be a simple solution.

 

Sterling Dossett

Natchez resident