By Staff
Don't let golf course become memory
Golf, golf, golf. Who cares? I do, and I'm not alone. I was born and raised here. I served Brewton as a police officer for over five years.
I served this community as a full-time youth pastor for five years. I currently have been serving as a senior pastor for more than nine years. Why does this matter? Because I have worked with young and old, and I have seen a lot of things come and go in my 43 years of living here.
Let's look at some of them. Bowling alley/putt-putt golf, gone. Fort Crawford park, gone. O'Bannon Creek access, gone. I am an avid golfer and play regularly at Dogwood Hills municipal course. It is in jeopardy of being another gone, if a minority of people have their way.
Even if the course is altered, it will be impossible for many who walk currently to do so, due to increased elevation. Brewton should look around at some neighboring cities and compare their parks and recreation services to ours and then ask ourselves why jeopardizing this asset to our community is even an issue. I agree with Hugh Ellington's radio ad on this one. Don't let a minority of people dictate to the rest of us what they are going to do by camoflaging their intentions with words like &#8220co-exist” and &#8220re-design.”
Let's keep Dogwood Hills golf course as it is, instead of making another memory.
William Joyner
North Brewton resident
Middle school could hurt traffic flow on U.S. 31
I am writing in regard to the school system looking at taking part of what is now the Dogwood Hills golf course and building a new school there. I am totally against such a measure.
That golf course is a drawing card for many out of town guests to come to Brewton for a visit and spend some of their money here. Just last week, I had a friend visiting from Tennessee and we spent the day playing golf at Dogwood Hills. He thought it was one of the best kept courses he had played, and we really enjoyed the day. Many local citizens benefit from being able to go there for a game of golf where it is reasonably priced. I know that I can't afford to be a member of the new country club, as much as I would like to be. They say they will rework the golf course so it is still a nine-hole course using the land that is now not being used. That doesn't make any sense either. Why spend a lot of money reworking a golf course that is already in operation and has a long history right where it is? It seems to me that money would be better spent building where the land is not already in use. If they want to build on the land that the golf course owns but is not being used now, that would be better but still not a good idea due to traffic congestion.
In addition, I believe that the school has no business building in that location for traffic flow reasons. We already have two schools located on U.S. 31 and a new Wal-Mart Supercenter coming that will be at the very same location where the school traffic will have to flow. That is already enough of a logjam for traffic without adding in another school to hold up traffic.
The school superintendent seems to think they need to be located in a very visible location for some reason. There is no reason that a school needs to be on the main thoroughfare through town. During Pam's tenure as a Chamber of Commerce executive, the prospective businesses coming to town didn't want to know where the schools are located. They only cared about what is the teacher/pupil ratio and the test scores. I think they would prefer the schools not be on the main routes through town when their employees are trying to get to work.
I hope the committee working on this program can find a solution that will not tear up the current Dogwood Hills golf course or add to the traffic congestion on Highway 31.
Larry Peterson
Brewton resident