My name is Darlene Burrous. I am a resident of Ty Ty and this is my opinion. I also grew up in a different time, a time without fear when we could sit on the porch or in the yard, play outside all day and not even lock our doors. We lived without fear of being robbed, shot, run over by a speeding car, gangs, drug dealers or meth labs, but times change. My question is, “Do we just sit back and accept what is happening to our neighborhoods, communities, towns and country?” No, I don’t think so.

I have the honor of being married to a veteran, Howard Burrous, who spent 30 years in the United States Marine Corps. He served our country with pride, strength, courage and fortitude and spent over half his life fighting for the privileges we enjoy. It is because of him and all the other soldiers and the sacrifices they made that we have the freedom we have today. Hundreds of thousands have died for us, stood up for us and with us. I refuse to sit back and do nothing because I may be afraid, at some point even a soldier may be afraid but that does not stop him from doing what has to be done.

I know that all the things happening in Ty Ty are happening everywhere, but my concerns are in the community we have chosen to call home. As a community we have to unite and take back our town. We have to be the eyes and ears of this community. We cannot hide in our houses and expect things to change. Our voices must be heard, but they can only be heard if we speak out. We, the people of this community, have the power to change things if we will just unite together. We need to let our city officials know what we want and expect, let the undesirables know we are there, watch out for each other and make that call when things look suspicious. We should not be prisoners in our own homes because we are afraid. We have to stand up and say “ENOUGH.” Anything worth having is worth fighting for.

Change does not happen overnight, but if we continue to work toward our goal change will come. Change requires hard work, persistence and sometimes even compromise. Change may not happen today, tomorrow, next week or even next month, but persistence will push change. The things we do today will affect the future for us, our children and our grandchildren.

We live in the United States of America, the Home of the Free and the Brave, so be brave so we can continue to be free, unite so that we can take back our town. Stand up, speak up and be heard.

Respectfully,

Standing up!

Speaking up!

Darlene Burrous

Ty Ty