Chattanooga is not the only city that is run over by the trash problem. I live in Rossville and there is a house behind me on another street that looks like it is the headquarters for the city dump.

The people who live in that house just throw their garbage outside their house in the yard. I bet there must be hundreds of rats running around in their yard and inside their house.

Walker County must not have a law against filth for downtown Rossville looks junky with all those dilapidated buildings, bingo parlors, lottery parlors, pawn shops, beer joints, title loan shops, hundreds of used car lots, and junk yards on Highway 27 across from Lane Funeral home. It is a total disgrace for such a mess in a city that once took pride in its achievements.

The cities of Dalton, LaFayette, Ringgold, Chickamauga, and other towns in this area are model cities of what small towns should look like. They are clean, neat and attractive to out-of-town visitors. Rossville must be the biggest eyesore for a town in the state of Georgia.

I wish whoever was in charge of this city would get on the ball and start some kind of program that would improve the conditions in Rossville and make it a model city to live in.

Harold McCoy
Rossville, Ga.

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Maybe Mr. McCoy should get his facts straight before condemning the city of Rossville. After reading his opinion with so many errors regarding Rossville, I wonder if he knows if he actually lives in the city of Rossville or if he is located in Walker County.

First, Rossville is a city that happens to be located in Walker County and it has its own rules and regulations. Second, the "junk yard" he refers to is not a junky yard but a wrecker service that services not only Rossville but the surrounding cities, counties and state of Georgia. The cars on this property are those that have been towed due to accidents, DUI arrests, etc. Some are waiting for insurance adjusters to finish their reports before they can be released. Also, this wrecker service is located in the county and not in the city of Rossville. I know this because I was the mechanic there while it was still a service station until I had to stop work due to health problems in 2006.

Next, the "beer joints" he refers to are located on the Tennessee side of Rossville Boulevard and not in Rossville, Ga. If I am not mistaken, there are absolutely no "beer joints" located in the city of Rossville. You can, however, buy beer and wine at convenience stores and/or grocery stores but this is an individual's choice to make. Mayor Baker thought the city could be improved from the profit off the sales of beer and wine instead of people driving through our town to spend money in Chattanooga and/or Ft. Oglethorpe where it was legal to do so. As for the car lots, take a look at the Tennessee side of Rossville Boulevard and I think you will find that the majority of car lots and other business he refers to are located on the Tennessee side.

The "person in charge of Rossville" would be Mayor Johnny Baker and the Rossville City Council. Maybe Mr. McCoy could look up the Rossville city clerk's phone number and give them a call regarding his problems with his neighbors. I am sure that there is something in the city code and/or ordinances that would address his problems. This would definitely fall under a health issue if there are as many rodents as he claims.

Personally, I feel that Mayor Baker and our City Council have done wonders for this town. I moved here in 1995 and there have been many good changes that they have instituted (beer and wine sales being one). If Mr. McCoy doesn't like what's happening in Rossville, maybe he should get more involved with the community to help make it even better. Maybe he should get out more also. The towns located around Rossville have restaurants that sell liquor by the drink, used car lots and many other businesses that he seems to dislike. A variety of business is how a town grows and prospers.

I believe that if Mr. McCoy took that time to contact either his council person and/or Mayor Johnny Baker, they would be happy to listen to his concerns and try to find the best possible solution to his problems. I know that I have called the clerk's office on numerous occasions and they have always been extremely helpful. So, Mr. McCoy, why don't you give it a try?

Quinn Manis
Rossville

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In all fairness, I will have to side with both disputing neighbors, at least partially. Even though some work has been taken on to revive the north Georgia town, Rossville and the surrounding area remain quite unsightly. Even though I recall the aforementioned service station/impound lot, Civil War tourists are regularly instructed to turn at the junkyard from Missionary Ridge to complete their (reversed) traced steps to the Chickamauga Battlefield.

As I have traveled to many cities across the country through the years, I have noted several places that rival the appearance of Rossville. Even when compared to the likes of Newark, NJ, Downtown Detroit, or even East St. Louis, Rossville somehow remains on the top of this state-wide, as well as nation-wide list.

Rossville, particularly the area south of town, presents an unmatched kind of aesthetic. Combining an "anything goes" style of architecture, half-baked construction sites, and buildings in a state of extreme disrepair (some of which have actually collapsed in recent years), the city is quite distinguished in this category. To supplement these qualities, random dump sites, abandoned excavations, and rampant thickets of kudzu place this area in class of its own.

Sadly, Rossville is a vital part of the regional history. As many of you may know, it once was home to Cherokee Chief John Ross, whose former quarters lurk in the midst of the present-day road-sign pollution and rusted chain-link fences. In the past, the city was a well-known shopping district, with a variety of upscale boutique clothing stores. Today, most of these historic buildings that once housed these stores have been razed, in favor of a patchwork of strip-malls and over-grown vacant lots.

As lack of vision and poor planning have plagued the old Rossville Gap with years of decline and left behind a revolting mess, it is encouraging to see signs of a turnaround. Perhaps the thousands of new and old residents in the north Georgia area will take action. Mr. McCoy should probably join Mr. Hatfield (a.k.a. Mr. Manis), and revitalize the Highway 27 corridor, once part of "the road" connecting Savannah River trade with the Tennessee River at Ross's Landing. This would certainly result in a more pleasant commute for those suburbanites.

Paul Jackson
paulanddena@yahoo.com