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Cottage Hill Residents Clean Up Community
March 25, 2011
Cottage Hill had become a community where neighbors did not know one another and where fear sometimes gripped residents that would not venture outside at night.
“There were elderly people in the neighborhood that if they left something in their car, they would not walk outside their home at night to get it because of fear. They would just wait until the next morning,” said Marsha Ryland.
“That’s not the way we wanted our neighborhood,” Ryland said. So she went to work on the evils that lurked in Cottage Hill, starting with meth after her neighbor’s house burned to the ground from a meth lab gone bad. They organized for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to present a community program on meth. That eventually led Ryland, her daughter Amanda and Carlyn Vickery to work with their neighbors to form the Cottage Hill Neighborhood Watch.
The group was part of about 100 volunteers, law enforcement officers and county employees that teamed up Thursday morning to clean up a for Operation Clean Sweep to rid the neighborhood of crime, criminals and trash.
During the operation, 38 tons of trash was collected — some by volunteers from the Marines, 36 tickets were issued for traffic violations, five people were arrested on outstanding warrants and Escambia County Code Enforcement opened 26 cases on violations.
“From Jim Allen Elementary to McKenzie Road, we are taking back out streets,” Ryland said. “This was jut the beginning today. It’s our job to make sure it stays cleaned up.”
“This is the first time I can remember since the late 1950’s that the whole community has pulled together and gotten involved,” Vickery said.
“People have really started to know their neighbors and look out for one another,” Ryland said. “It’s made a huge difference.”
For a photo gallery from the Operation Clean Up Thursday in Cottage Hill, click here.
Residents in the area had been encouraged to pile trash and debris from the homes and yards alongside the road for pickup. And they did. Pile and pile of trash — furniture, couches, tires, boats (about a half dozen boats) and more lined the streets waiting for collection. The Marines walked the area, accompanied by deputies on horseback, picking up smaller litter.
Escambia deputies stood next to Highway 95A with radar guns, directing those over the speed limit off the highway for a ticket. The Sheriff’s Office tactical (TAC) unit moved about the neighborhood with parole and probation officers with outstanding arrest warrants in hand.
Pictured above and below: Scenes from Operation Clean Sweep Thursday morning in Cottage Hill. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
18 Responses to “Cottage Hill Residents Clean Up Community”
Good job. Appeciate the efforst of all involved.
In your neighborhood watch did you ever think of doing some real civic duty and help tle widows/widower, the disabled the poor or others in need of help rather than being nosey busy bodies? I am 1000 miles away and I know several in Cottage Hill that could use your assistance. Paint their house, make repairs, clean/mow a lawn, assist them with a garden or provide transportation or food, assist with bills.. Would bring a lot more pride than the mess you made of this!
It is alsi more in line with a churches responsibility to its community.
I’m gonna have to talk to Marsha about the “scared to go out at night” bit because I don’t know of anyone around here who is scared to do that. Heck, I even walk on my road in the middle of the night and have no fears. Nobody’s messing with people around here. That’s silly.
The only issue here is dogs and people breaking into houses and cars. When crimestoppers and the SO decide to get together and pick the perpetrators up (yes, they’ve been repeatedly told exactly who is doing it), that’ll be gone too. As for the meth heads and labs, we knew they were there, but they didn’t mess with us in any way.
All in all, I’m really happy here. I love this neighborhood. I feel perfectly safe.
Do you know why there is still stuff to pick up, everybody came on thursday for the cameras but the road dept is the only dept left still cleaning up.
to cottage hill girl, I agree with you one hundred percent and casey saying it was compared to brownsville. That is just ridiculous, they got all the meth heads out of cottage hill. Way to go Escambia county sheriff’s office !!! Now that they are gone cottage hill is a wonderfull neighborhood. My family lives there and i love to visit them and just sit on their porch watching the community. That is one of the best communities in our county. It is nice to know there are still places like that now days. I luv it there!!!
@cottagehillneighbor- Im sorry your disabled and I hope you have someone that can help you but it still doesnt change that NOBODY is owed this. Whatever the VOLUNTEERS can grab and get, they will. Whatever they leave is still the neighborhoods problem. Talk to your neighbors and get them off their lazy butts. My road is clean of debris because all of us take pride in our yards and pick up whenever we see trash. Communities need take matters in their own hands and stop blaming everybody else. Thank you to the county and all the volunteers for picking up everybody elses trash!
And, oh, yeah, if they did such a great job, why don’t some of you guys take a ride down Parker Road? It looks worse than it did BEFORE they came through.
“Instead of whining and crying try grabbing a trashbag and walk your own road and oick up trash yourselves. This isnt owed to you. Its done because your neighborhood is to lazy to do it yourselves!”
Well, if I was physically able to do that, I WOULD!!!
And I do have cause to complain since I was told by code enforcement that various items couldn’t be picked up because they were not allowed as part of Operation Clean Sweep only to discover that these same items were picked up at various other locations and that CODE ENFORCEMENT was who told the volunteers to pick it all up. Now…..if they can pick it up at one location, WHY can’t they pick it up at another? Why couldn’t they pick it up from a disabled person’s home but they COULD from the homes of several able bodied people? I can’t move these things myself so I guess they’ll just sit here for everybody to look at and complain about.
And, btw, there is STILL stuff on the sides of the roads waiting to be picked up.
remember the days of yore? Young men came to Pensacola to learn about Naval aviation. This was the “industry” of Pensacola. Fast forward…..sailors
and marines, “volunteering (?)” to clean up cemetarys, front yards, and rights-of-way, while the homeboys sit on their front porches, with their malt liquor, just enjoying their “entitlements.”
The “speed trap” is a great idea. Its not for writing tickets. The people they pull over, they can run their license and check them for warrants. The cops have laws they have to adhere to. They cant just go kick in doors and start shooting people. Instead of whining and crying try grabbing a trashbag and walk your own road and oick up trash yourselves. This isnt owed to you. Its done because your neighborhood is to lazy to do it yourselves!
Too bad everyone in Cottage Hill couldnt take a look at Day Lily Rd. those people work at their yards. However, a lot of the trash along 95A isnt created by the residents there, its bypassers, and the traffic speeding on that road is disgusting, mostly heavy trucks, trying to sneak past DOT. DOT could pay more officers on the fines they would collect, its the same all the way to the end where 95A comes off of 29, The situation is not unique its the same up in Molino and Barrineau Park, they fly down roads that are marked 35 miles an hour, many are women with children in their cars, and big trucks coming off of Atmore Cutoff, a lot of alabama vehicles, not to mention the fellas in their trucks, Ups and Fed Ex drivers drive like maniacs down these country roads, The need to develope a traffic watch program where officers give tickets just for folks who tail gate, talk on cell phones, text etc.and speed, do not give turning signals and other minor offences they would be able to pay the salaries on the fines they collect, etc. and put more folks to work as well as save lives and insurance payments on accidents…… Littering is an act that comes with a fine…..but how many folks are ever caught or fined? With so many people out of work this would be a way to create jobs…….
While I certainly appreciate everyones effort to clean up our neighborhood, I will have to agree with Mr. Tipton in that it seemed to be a big speed trap around here yesterday. And to Casey, I really don’t see how you think Cottage Hill is comparable to Brownsville. Everyone I know around here keeps their yard clean and since the meth heads are gone, there hasn’t been near as much crime. I think the officers could be well used on Quintette or maybe down in Barth where the real drug problem is.
Thanks to all the Marines, E.S.O. and all volunteers who participated in Operation Clean Sweep in Cottage Hill. Will this effort stop crime in our neighborhood? Unfortunately, no. However, I believe the only way to reduce crime in this area is to have a Neighborhood Watch. The most effective way to start a Neighborhood Watch is to have a show of force. And one way to do that is to have a clean-up day. To all those who have made negative comments concerning Operation Clean Sweep, I ask what have you done to contribute to a safer place to live?
Harold Tipton, Give me a break……The Deputy’s should not have been picking up trash. They do not live in there. The folks who live in there should have been picking up their own trash. It is this type of stupid thinking why America is screwed up!!!!!!!!!!!! I will say that thejail has alot of inmates just sitting around doing nothing. Chain gangs would have helped, but folks like you would say that that is cruel and unusual punishment to embarass those inmates making them wear black and white pinstripes, and chained up like poor animals.
There is also a Neighborhood watch being started in Molino and Barrineau Park. Contact Craig at the Escambia County Sheriff’s office if you are interested.
It is about time someone took the lead and brought in the appropriate personnel to assist in cleaning up Cottage Hill, this used to be one of the nicest places to live along with Molino and now look at all the thugs and meth. heads have done. This place looks run down and dirty, equal to the Brownsville area, job well done Ms. Ryland and ECSO run these people out of this county or make them understand how it’s going to be, take your dirty ill gotten ways somewhere else! Heck most of those arrested in the sting called “Operation Blister Pack” lived and operated off of Williams Ditch Road and McKenzie! Now they need to also take a look at the trailor park on Tate School Road, right near a high school, those are all connected with the ones arrested in the same sting. Job Well Done!
I don’t know if running a speed trap helped our community. That’s all Escambia county sheriff dept. was doing in Cottage Hill. Deputy’s should have been picking litter up if they wanted to clean sweep Cottage Hill.
what a great thing…do you know what makes america great? her people. together, united, i believe, and it is only my humble opinion, we can overcome any obstacle or do anything we have a mind to do….. when we stand together we become that republic that is indivisible, the nation that stands for liberty and justice. so i am proud of our friends and neighbors that work hard to prove me right, that we have a great community and a great land.