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Barlow Bend residents want community center
Cameron is the leader of the Barlow Bend Community Action League, a non-profit organization originally established in June 2003 to respond to treacherous road conditions at Lee Hill. It took the county six months to improve that road situation, she said. A meeting was held on the proposed project Monday at Union Chapel Baptist Church in Barlow Bend. A second meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Oct. 2 at the same location. Though currently living in Huntsville, Cameron calls Barlow Bend home. "We have been stagnated for 50-something years," she said. "…I've been away for 40 years. Nothing has changed in Barlow Bend. It's gotten worse in a lot of ways. "…There's a lot of people who want to come home. They can't come home because there's nothing to come to….We need the government to help us….Unless we ask for it or demand it, they are not going to give it to us." The proposed community center complex would serve 2,500 people, she said. Cameron hopes to have the project finished within the next two years. Cameron has received a commitment from the Clarke County Development Foundation. A foundation representative, Shirley Fountain, was on hand at Monday's meeting. "We should be very proud in this area that we have someone - who's not been here - but loves the community well enough to come back and put this much work into building a community center. She cannot do it alone….I know she has a heart and desire to see it grow." Cameron also has grant applications with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She has also met with the staff of Governor Bob Riley and officials with the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Cameron said Joe Hunt, chairman of the Clarke County Commission and commissioner for District 4, had been working with the action league "since day one." "On behalf of the county, if there is anyway we can support this project, we will," Hunt said. Cameron doesn't want Barlow Bend to be the only community her agency will serve. She is promoting the entire District 4, which also includes the communities of Alma, Carlton, Choctaw Bluff, Manila, Rockville, Walker Springs and Gainestown. Cameron wants to establish a board with representatives from each community. "This community is lacking so much," said resident Johnnie Mitchell. "We don't even have a walking park….You think about things for your children or grandchildren. There's nowhere to throw a ball other than your yard." "When I was a kid, communities played other communities in ball," said Clay Myers, a native of Barlow Bend currently living in Mobile, who owns property in the community. "...Things have deteriorated to the point that they don't have a place to play ball. …District 4 needs a place where the citizens can get together and have meetings, reunions (and) have access to daycare," Myers said. "I applaud what Hattie is doing….We're proud of her." This community center project is big, Mitchell said. "It is so important that (each one of us) be involved." Cameron said the mission had gotten too large for one or two people to accomplish. She needs volunteers from throughout District 4. "We need to know the people's concerns," she said. "We need to know your desires." She asked for citizens to speak out, "become bold and strong."
For more information on the Barlow Bend project, call Cameron at 1-256-603-8872 or 859-0147.
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