One of the plus sides to living in a retired farming community is you get the beauty of open lands without the constant wait of driving behind tractors on the roads. The down side? Its days are numbered.
As farmers retire/die out, families of today simply cannot afford to keep the property. There's a joke in NC's ag family that the only thing tobacco farms are growing today is subdivisions. Though our little community seems to be ammending that. Looks like we're growing schools.
Friends who've been reading my blog know that my extended family sold the 50 acres adjoining our property to the county school system many years ago for an elementary and middle school. Due to politics and such, those schools have yet to be built, though they are now back on the "slate" for around 2020 provided funding goes through.
What has taken us all by surprise though is a high school. Last night the county had a meeting with property owners nearby, and if this fall's bond issue passes, there will be a high school built within a stone's throw from my mother-in-law's house. The goal is to move Garner Magnet's students there in 2017 while their school is renovated, and then no later than 2019 it will open as a brand new high school.
Number one concern among the neighbors was the traffic, not so much the volume but the road and bridge sturdiness (or lack thereof). And concern number two? Hunting and the "way of life". While we're not as redneck as duck dynasty, we're not too far off. Number three was an increase in crime, which is already more than we care for in this area. And there was a big discussion of property values and what three schools would do. It was almost like a discussion between two mindsets... people from the big city who think having lots of traffic and business and busyness are wonderful things that would raise your property value, and country folks who value privacy, quietness, and a rural setting and don't want their propery values raised any more as our taxes are already high enough. I'm not sure either side was comprehending the other, though as a whole I think most of the meeting was very cordial.
I'm not a big fan of bonds. I'd prefer not to have three schools within 2 miles of my house. But I also recognize the importance of education and that schools have to go somewhere. It's not a change I welcome, but I don't think it's a change I can realistically campaign against. Some neighbors are already talking of selling if the bond passes. I guess I feel that no matter where you go, things are eventually going to encroach upon you. As long as we're not annexed by the town of Garner, I'm okay. I'm not ready to give up my chickens or geese. And if that starts being bantered about, then I might have to get my small flock of miniature cows, donkeys, and goats just to make sure everything is grandfathered in or to give us a fighting chance to stay "country."
Come what may, life won't be dull.
As farmers retire/die out, families of today simply cannot afford to keep the property. There's a joke in NC's ag family that the only thing tobacco farms are growing today is subdivisions. Though our little community seems to be ammending that. Looks like we're growing schools.
Friends who've been reading my blog know that my extended family sold the 50 acres adjoining our property to the county school system many years ago for an elementary and middle school. Due to politics and such, those schools have yet to be built, though they are now back on the "slate" for around 2020 provided funding goes through.
What has taken us all by surprise though is a high school. Last night the county had a meeting with property owners nearby, and if this fall's bond issue passes, there will be a high school built within a stone's throw from my mother-in-law's house. The goal is to move Garner Magnet's students there in 2017 while their school is renovated, and then no later than 2019 it will open as a brand new high school.
Number one concern among the neighbors was the traffic, not so much the volume but the road and bridge sturdiness (or lack thereof). And concern number two? Hunting and the "way of life". While we're not as redneck as duck dynasty, we're not too far off. Number three was an increase in crime, which is already more than we care for in this area. And there was a big discussion of property values and what three schools would do. It was almost like a discussion between two mindsets... people from the big city who think having lots of traffic and business and busyness are wonderful things that would raise your property value, and country folks who value privacy, quietness, and a rural setting and don't want their propery values raised any more as our taxes are already high enough. I'm not sure either side was comprehending the other, though as a whole I think most of the meeting was very cordial.
I'm not a big fan of bonds. I'd prefer not to have three schools within 2 miles of my house. But I also recognize the importance of education and that schools have to go somewhere. It's not a change I welcome, but I don't think it's a change I can realistically campaign against. Some neighbors are already talking of selling if the bond passes. I guess I feel that no matter where you go, things are eventually going to encroach upon you. As long as we're not annexed by the town of Garner, I'm okay. I'm not ready to give up my chickens or geese. And if that starts being bantered about, then I might have to get my small flock of miniature cows, donkeys, and goats just to make sure everything is grandfathered in or to give us a fighting chance to stay "country."
Come what may, life won't be dull.
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