Do Black Lives Matter in Tryon?

Published 10:00 pm Wednesday, September 9, 2015

To the editor:

On Thursday, Sept. 3, I attended a meeting of the Eastside Citizen Advisory Committee at Roseland Center in Tryon.  I am not a resident of the Town of Tryon or the Eastside Community.  I went because although I don’t live directly in it, I care about the people who do and recognize that we are all part of the same community.

We cannot pretend, as I think we sometimes like to, that each of our little towns and townships are their own worlds. We are all interconnected. What harms one, harms all.

A number of town officials were present at the meeting. Dr. Joseph Fox and Dr. Warren Carson, as well as Tryon Mayor Pro Tem and Councilman Roy Miller expressed their extreme frustration regarding not only the town’s lack of attention to dilapidated structures and overgrown properties, but the appearance of foot-dragging if not downright indifference to resolving these problems.

It was noted that some of these conversations, and indeed some of the very same properties, have been part of this group’s agenda for 15 years. No wonder they are frustrated. Regarding the overgrown properties, particularly those that grow onto and over the very narrow and winding roads of the Eastside Community, I wonder why there is not a regularly scheduled program of making sure that at least the streets are safe and sight lines are cleared.

 The conversation grew more spirited and confrontational as the focus turned to the Tryon Police. I found it ironic that the conversation included both distress at over-zealous policing in terms of people being stopped, harassed or threatened by the police without cause, while at the same time requests for increased police presence in terms of more community policing, greater enforcement for speeding and drug trade activity went unheeded.

Attendees were advised that there is a grievance procedure in place for people who feel their concerns are not satisfactorily addressed. This seemed to come down to “call me if you’re unhappy about something.” Again, ironic in that one of the things people were unhappy about was the response when they did call officials.

Appropriate ways of disseminating information to the community were discussed.  It appeared to me that all suggestions came from Eastside residents.  I had the feeling nothing was going to get much clearer if it is left to the town to solve that problem.

 Having wisely saved the most difficult subject for the meeting for the last, Dr. Warren Carson opened the discussion of the recent fire which resulted in the loss of long-time and beloved Eastside community member Trey Miller.

Many of the attendees were related to Mr. Miller, and were understandably still in anguish. Anger flared, and allegations of indifference were made. Some of the town officials clearly recognized the family’s pain, and their empathy showed.

Assistant Fire Chief Tank Waters, appearing very aware of the intense pain of Trey’s family, stood and addressed the family directly. He gave a step-by-step account of his entry into the burning home. Though some questioned his truthfulness, it appeared to me that he wanted very much to provide information that would help Trey’s loved ones to come to some understanding of his death.

Some of the other town officials  seemed only defensive. Several preferred not to make eye contact with attendees.  After a long, heated, emotionally challenging discussion, the meeting ended with promises from the town to share information with the family as it becomes available.

 A ray of hope was evident in the pleas from Roy Miller and several other of Trey’s relatives that we have got to come together as a community to make things better.  I believe Mayor Wright also expressed this sentiment. Other town officials mostly looked relieved that the meeting was finally over.

 We are fortunate that Tryon has had only two fatalities by fire in recent years.  Unfortunately, both of these were in the Eastside community. There is a need for much more serious discussion as to whether the needs of the community are being adequately met by the services as they are currently delivered.

There also appears to be a need for more readily available information about how to access services, how and to whom complaints should be directed. Perhaps “A Resident’s Guide to Living in Tryon” could be made available. Community churches and Roseland Center, as well as organizations like the Friendship Council whose mission focuses on bridging the racial divide, could assist in distribution of these materials. Perhaps Eastside Community Advisory Committee meetings could be reported in the Bulletin as are other important local meetings.

 I left the meeting with the thought someone expressed during the crisis of Mrs. Whitmire’s housing situation, also in the Eastside community: “Would we be having these discussions if this had happened on Melrose Avenue?”

Donna Tatnall

Tryon, N.C.