Residents of Summerville gathered to discuss the ongoing redistricting process, traffic issues and crime at a town hall at Trinity on the Hill’s chapel on Thursday, Jan. 6.
A panel of local leaders gathered to answer questions from the citizens. The panel was made up of Augusta Commissioners John Clarke and Catherine McKnight, school board members Charlie Walker and Walter Eubanks, traffic engineer John Ussery and Richmond County Sheriff’s Office personnel Danny Whitehead, Jeff Adams and Patrick Clayton.
Each panelist gave a brief presentation on the local matters pertaining to Summerville that they had been working on lately.
Clarke and McKnight began by explaining the most recent developments with the city’s redistricting process.
“This has been a tough several months, for District 3 in particular,” McKnight said. “At the end of the day, the map that was chosen was not a good map.”
McKnight explained that the fight is not over and that she would be attempting to work on the state level to rescind the accepted map until her concerns are
“The hope I have for Summerville residents is that the state will turn this map down,” she said. “We know where the state lies, and I feel good about that. I represent 3 with 10 precincts. I’ve have to stay neutral, as has Commissioner Clarke… but this is my neighborhood, and I don’t want to see any precincts or neighborhoods broken up.”
Clarke echoed her comments, saying, “It would be great if the citizens of Augusta were all as passionate as the people in District 3. Man, we’d have a great city. This fight is far from over, as Commissioner McKnight said. This is not only about numbers, this redistricting. This is about human beings.”
When the question and answer portion of the evening commenced, Clarke expounded on frustration with the process.
MORE: Richmond County redistricting map faces opposition in the legislative delegation
“They’re moving numbers. They want to keep the districts as close in number as possible,” Clarke said. “We have to fight on the state level because on the local level, they’ve given up and given in.”
“I like it as is,” McKnight said. “I’d be happy if everything stayed as is.”
Local crime was front of mind at the town hall after two recent break-ins at local businesses.
On Dec. 16, Sheehan’s Irish Pub, located at 2571 Central Ave., was broken into around 2:30 a.m. Intruders made off with between $300 and $500 after breaking the front door’s glass and entering the business.
Buona Caffe suffered a similar fate on Dec. 27. A glass porch door of the coffee shop at 1858 Central Ave. was also smashed and entered through in the night.
MORE: Local restaurant robbed; community rallies support
Sheriff’s Office personnel reminded attendees to lock their cars and doors at night, and to be careful of leaving objects in view in their vehicles.
Event organizer Jerry Woods said his own vehicle was broken into after he left an empty box in his car overnight.
Deputy Jeff Adams patrols the area at night, and he reminded residents that if they have a bumper sticker on their vehicle that advertises gun ownership or a love of hunting, crooks will target those vehicles. Adams pleaded with the attendees to take their firearms in the house at all times.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
