Editor&squo;s note: Following is a letter submitted by Tryon&squo;s Eastside Citizens Advisory Committee&squo;s Chairman Warren Carson to Interim Tryon Town Manager Bob Shepherd on May 18, 2008. Tryon Councilman Roy Miller read the letter to the public and to Tryon Town Council during a meeting held on Tuesday.

Thanks for meeting last Wednesday with residents and property owners of the Eastside neighborhood. Those in attendance also represented churches and community institutions, including Roseland Community Center. I think it was a productive meeting and we are looking forward to continued dialogue and, moreover, some real action on the problems that plague the community. We are especially indebted to the efforts of commissioner Miller for arranging the meeting and for his and Chief Arrowood&squo;s following up on several of the agenda items.

As you heard loud and clear, problems continue unchecked year after year and we need some calculated action and the residents need some relief. Open and flagrant drug traffic and sales, loitering, larceny, and vandalism, speeding and noise from vehicles and homes, and just an overabundance of abandoned and dilapidated houses make our community unsafe, unhealthy, and undesirable to live in. We all appreciate the situation with our economy and the small police force, etc., but we can no longer accept those excuses for not being able to address perennial problems in one of Tryon&squo;s oldest neighborhoods. It bears repeating that many of the residents there, particularly the elderly ones, have given their lives to the area and they have nowhere else to go. The very least the Town of Tryon can do for them is to help them achieve some peace and quiet.

Again, we appreciate your time and attention. Please know that we are committed to making things better, much better, for the Eastside.

‐ Warren J. Carson, Ph.D., Chair Eastside Citizens Adivsory Committee