Posted by OldGrandDad (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 4:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Is the city working against any other delapidated properties or only these 2 with out-of-town owners? It's painfully easy to look around and find more than these. Arlington is well off the road and is not nearly so much an eyesore as some others. Is this merely a tactic to get the property donated to the Historic Natchez Foundation?

Posted by beammeupscotty (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 6:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Sometimes I think if these people found a nail in the dirt they would say it could be re-built.

Posted by babev1 (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 7:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)

They need to do something with the place kids are hanging out back there doing who know what. You should ride up in there and see what has happen to the place. I did one day just to see it is really bad and then you will see what I am talking about.

Posted by rhymeandreason (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 7:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It would be useful for the community to have the Democrat publish the procedures by which individuals then acquire these properties from the Historic Natchez Foundation. How transparent is that process? Perhaps the City should acquire this property as an anchor for the Forks of the Road site. This home could be restored as a handicapped accessible site with more focus on the story of the Forks of the Road. P>S> no one is apparently interested in the other delapidated sites in residential areas of Natchez so no aggressive action has been or will be taken.

Posted by pbnj (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 7:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Just cause a building is not antebellum does not mean it should sit in ruins. I want to see something done about all the properties that are owned by people that actually live in Natchez and walk around like they are untouchable but they own properties that are huge eyesores. Why is this possible? What about the white building on homochitto st. that a car drove through a year ago.... "Welcome to downtown Natchez, isn't that lovely?" Kids have been going in and out of it for years and it has not been an issue, probably because of who owns it. Pitiful!!!!

Posted by LOVESNATCHEZ (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 8:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

What would Historic Natchez Foundation do with it? They don't have the money to restore it. How many chances do these people get to either tear down, fix, burn, etc., before something is actually done. Now that the FORMER FBC building in on the market, does that just negate the fact that it was deemed demolition by neglect? How long can it sit on the market? All of this crap is just smoke and mirrors. Either get with the program or shut up.

Posted by Nativeson (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 8:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The economy of this city is built around historic property. There is a house on North Commerce that was saved after a fire by the efforts of the community and later, Mr. Spike Newman. Arlington can and should be saved. Some of you folks have a lot of venom in you. If you could channel that it to something more productive we could save a lot....

Posted by OldGrandDad (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 9:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Nativeson, I'm re-reading posts and looking for the "venom". Please help me out.

Posted by rhymeandreason (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 9:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

What are the procedures for acquiring these properties from the Historic Natchez Foundation? I have been told that they sell these properties to individuals to restore for a very small amount of money. How is this process advertised to the community? Bids? Public Notice? How are the individuals selected and by whom? Is there a listing of which properties have been passed to the Historic Natchez Foundation by the City and who acquired them and for how much?

Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 9:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I know there are other family members around. Would they be willing to take it over?

Posted by jimi (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 9:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Right On, NativeSon....but, there are a lot of properties around town that could be repaired or simply cleaned up and painted...or torn down and the lots maintained. Habits for Humanity is looking for places to build new houses and a lot of these crappy old places could be torn down to make way for those.

And what about that hole on Commerce St? Right in the middle of downtown is this huge hole. I've been back home for four years now and am still amazed no one has fallen in there and sued the city...the owners, if they intend to leave the hole there could at least build a "movie set" facade across the front of the hole, sheesh!

A lot could be done to make Natchez more tourist appealing if people would just keep the grass cut and the buildings painted.

Posted by stateofnatchez (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 11:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Whatever. This city has PLENTY of buildings or dwellings that are in need of demolition.

Natchez leaders(?) and this looney, one-sided club needs to take care of its own public buildings and roads before pointing fingers at private owners.

The Natchez Preservation Comm needs to stop complaining and start acting in way beneficial to the needs of the community and stop grinding an axe the never intend to use or even know how to use.

Posted by natchez1 (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 2:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Arlington is a different situation than the First Baptist Church.

Arlington was destroyed due to gross negligance by the owner. The only reason it has a roof is because the Historic Natchez Foundation pressed Tom to do it.

Arlington could be restored and even in Natchez their are several people who have the desire and the money to do it.

Tom refuses to sell and refuses to make any effort to repair his family home. Tom has done nothing to Arlington since 2002 and several enquires to buy Arlington have been rebuffed.

If the city does not do something about Arlington soon it may be too late.

The Foundation although not perfect have a good track record of saving old buildings. The grander the building the better the success. Barry Tillman, Spike Newman and many others have taken houses that the Foundation made enough repairs to for potential buyers to take on the rest of the restoration. The Foundation has also provided encouragement and support to many other people as they tackle other restoration projects.

Posted by getalifenatchez (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 5:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

We, as a community blow it in so many ways.... If we are ever to become a "true" tourist destination, we have a lonnnggg way to go. From the moment you enter Natchez, weeds are knee deep, trash on the medians, dilapidated structures dot the landscape. We can't even keep the trees pruned when coming across the bridge on John R. Junkin Dr./ Hwy 84. (We need to make this entrance as inviting as the Liberty Rd. interchange.). The Welcome to Natchez signs are not lit at night, and there is no landscaping around them..... You then make a left @ the light onto Canal Street. Buildings that should be condemed and bulldozed line the roadway---and its simply allowed because of the person who owns these is local. You then decide to eat dinner @ the Cock of the Walk on Broadway. After dinner, you walk to the back of the restaurant to admire the river view (why is there not a deck out back to dine outside and enjoy the river????).... The back of this building is a complete eyesore, and an embarassment to the community. Take a picture and show this to mama when you get back home.... You then leave with a bad taste in your mouth for Natchez, and decide to ride near the casino---- Whats this, more blight on Silver St.??? Closed down buildings, weeds, closed restaurants---- wow, Natchez must be crazy for not capitalizing on this location--- clean it up and develop it you think to yourself..... Oh well, it obvious civic pride is truly lacking....... then you leave the downtown area via Homochitto St.--- Dunleith looks prettier than ever, but you make the curve and there is an eyesore if you ever saw one---The white, 2 story brick structure that has a huge gaping hole in the side of it, and the balcony hanging by a wing and a prayer.... Talk about Blight! From the total neglect that is so obvious, especially to an outsider, you decide to throw in the towel and move onto your next destination the next day, instead of staying in Natchez the additional day you had originally planned. Mr. / Mrs. Tourist leave Natchez the next day, and return to Anywhere, USA, and procede to tell everyone to scratch off visiting this historic city on the Mississippi. The shops downtown are closed on Sunday, the service in the restaurants we dined in was the worst ever---very unprofessional.... The staff was rude, and didn't have a clue about the menu.... It could be a beautiful city, but there was trash everywhere, their roads are in horrible condition, no landscaping to be found--- weeds all along their highways and entrances into their city..... Uprooted trees and debris lined many of the roadways, and it's obvious that it has been there for months! Plan that trip to Charleston, or Savanah instead!!!!

Posted by OldGrandDad (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 6:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

natchez1, you pretty well answered my question about this being a tactic to get the property (Arlington) donated to the Historic Natchez Foundation. Personally, I'd like to see all the rotting buildings done away with since they are terrible eyesores for a town that courts tourism. I'm still wanting to know if the National Park Service is immune to all this.

getalifenatchez, you forgot to mention the gazillion packing peanuts behind Cock of the Walk (and the FEDEX Shipping Center) that are being repeatedly mowed over and also resting between the fence and the edge of the bluff. I don't think they are biodegradeable. Maybe if you mow over them enough they dissapear? Oh, but there's another gazillion at the bottom of the bluff. I can only wonder where they came from......

It truly is a shame that we have no collective spirit to present the town well.

Posted by destiny (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 6:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Just went for a spin around town and tried to see it as our visitors would. Didn't take me long to return home. I couldn't stand it. It's appalling. And thats only the route the visitors would drive into Natchez from the east. Somethings up. Someone has an idea about this old house and they want it bad. Time will tell who wants it. THEY WILL PROBABLY GET IT FOR NOTHING, make a showcase out of it hoping to make enough to keep it up.

Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 9:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

does anyone know or have a clue what is the problem with Dr. Vaughn?

if this was his "family home" has the man no shame at all? From what I remember from past articles, HE"S GOT THE MONEY to fix the old house!!!!

if he doesn't care about the old house, then why doesn't he just put it up for sale?

I hope Judge Blough will push this to the fullest extent of the law,

Judge Blough is a very fair judge, maybe too fair, but I guess that's why I'm not a judge.... in this case I hope he goes hard on this guy because this neglect has gone on for decades. If I recall correctly, and as the article states, Dr. Vaughn has obviously IGNORED the letters and complaints of Natchez.

I think we need some real TEETH and PAIN in the municipal system....

Destiny- if you come in from the south side it looks ok........

Posted by natchezangel (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 9:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Does anyone know the whereabouts of Dr. Vaugn? Would love to know where the letters are being sent. Has anyone done a search for him?

Posted by 30samoht (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 10:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

natchez is beginning to be just a ghost town.no jobs for natives so they leave to go out of town to look for jobs.i know that we are in a recession,but city leaders come on.instead of pocket the money for yourself.go out there and do your job,like finding some plant ,warehouse,for distrubution to come to natchez.also theres no recreation in natchez.it is the summer and nothing facsinating to go to.plus not all tourist are the elderly.some are between the ages of 25 to 50.and they ask me what we do for fun here .it makes me ashame to call natchez my home.natchez is suppose to be rich.act like it.

Posted by Natchezbear (anonymous) on June 16, 2009 at 10:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The first thing I'd like to know is where are all the heirloom antiques salvaged after the fire.It seems to me that Historic Foundation had volunteers to salvage , but then where did they go. Second how can NHF criticize or enforce anything when the windows on their own building have paint peeled down to the bare wood!
We are in a sad state with all the blight around town, but you need to start at the top and work your way down with a fair and stringent set of rules that apply to everyone across the board.
As for obtaining a house from NHF , lots of luck with that if they don't benefit you don't get a house....Plain and simple! Been there done that.

Posted by natchez1 (anonymous) on June 17, 2009 at 1:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I am not sure the Foundation would have to get involved,

The city either will force Tom to start the restoration, and clean up, or he would be force to try and sell it. If he refuses either - likely - then it would go to court but I am not sure what would happen, it is very rare for a house to be "taken" - It is a National Historic Landmark which gives it other protections, The land is valuable as are the remains of the house - how do you fix a value?

I assume the taxes are paid so that removes an easier way to take the property. The city's best way to get the property would be to impose fines for neglect and when they are not paid it could have liens imposed.

The Foundation is not the bad guy here - I don't think they intend to "take" Arlington - Every house they have saved by being a part owner of, has cost the Foundation thousands, money the Foundation does not have, now that the Licensing Program has fallen on hard times.

Any potential "angel" would probably face legal challenges from Tom. I can't see Tom letting the house sell or starting any meaninful restoration. I think limbo will continue.

Posted by OldGrandDad (anonymous) on June 17, 2009 at 5:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Just as well. Like I said, Arlington is far enough off the road to not be an eyesore like many others. Stop mowing the front yard (saw a deer there the other morning) and Arlington will disappear in a season. We have many more rotting buildings, with local owners, that need a quick solution.

Posted by southernbelle (anonymous) on June 17, 2009 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Dr.Vaughn obviously has serious problems going on here. Does anybody know anything about his mental health? From what I understand he has been offered more than enough money from different individuals wanting to buy Arlington. There must be more to this story than we are privy to. Maybe Greg Isles can enlighten us in his next novel. At least it would be interesting and probably more truthful than the information we would get somewhere else. N D, I don't necessarly mean ya'll. Some of the antiques went to Elgin, I believe. Don't know anything about the rest. There were an awful lot of books that were painstakingly restored. I have no idea what happened to them. The point is Arlington should be saved. It is begging for it. It can be done. As far as the city doing it, hello ,the city only knows how to raise taxes and wages for themselves. They can't even get the weeds and grass cut in the city. And The petticoat mafia can't get the blue hair out of their eyes long enough to know where they are and what year it is to get anything done. Their blue blood has needed new blood for way too long. The PGC had real workers with real money with a mission when the club first began in early 1930's. They actually worked hard and put Natchez on the map that helped substain us for a long time. Nowadays it seems to be too many in the club that thinks the whole world revolves around them. Obviously they are behind the eight ball these recent years. I know, I used to sing their praises but I've learned a thing or two since those days. Maybe someday it will become a good and fruitful organization again. Just don't expect the PGC of today to rescue Arlington, much less Natchez. It's the wrong year for that. And Under the Hill, well, we all know who is responsible for that fiasco. We even have a street named after him. Aren't we bright! I sound like I'm disallusioned with Natchez. Not so. I'm saddened to see the town I love so much to be in this state of disrepair. It is all because of poor leadership in city, state and country. Arlington is so important for the obvious reasons of history and tourism. The other eyesores cry out for help. We are supposed to be caretakers for Our Fathers earth. Many of us don't even clean up our own yards. Many people still litter. Many people have no respect for themselves much less their fellowman. I quess many of us will get back what we give.

Posted by jimi (anonymous) on June 17, 2009 at 9:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

OK, here we go..again! Natchez needs fixing up, right? Everyone here, including some tourist, agree we need to fix up Natchez. Especially the entranceway from the north end of town. Coming in from the south does have more eye appeal, until you get to that ridiculous highway construction mess by Tracetown. What is that, anyway??

And most of the people visiting our city don't drive up from Baton Rouge, they drive down from Vicksburg and Jackson. I can't imagine how much money we spent on the entrance of the Trace at Liberty Rd, but people don't drive on the Trace any further than they have to once they get on it..too slow and nothing really to look at, but trees.

What I'm trying to say is simply this, everyone wants a better, more beautiful Natchez, but no one wants to pay for it, and no one trusts our local government to get the job done if we did vote to pay more taxes to spruce the place up. That's what Charleston did, and Savannah, and Estes Park, CO., and St Augustine, FL. But be careful what you wish for; more tourists, more conventions, it all means we need more entertainment than Doc Biglove's, Dimples, and the Riverboat gambling house. Downtown has to stay open on Sunday's, heck, nearly 24/7/356. More bars and restaurants, and trendy junk stores to compete with the real antique stores. And it means tourists year round. Not just one or two months a year and the occasional bluff festival weekends, but all year. And we're still gonna be poor for a few years because the city is going to have to suck it up and use the increased tax revenue to pay off the millions of dollars we're going to need to borrow to get it done in the first place.

Sounds like a great idea, doesn't it? Great to talk about, get excited about and congratulate each other about around the big table at the coffee shop, huh? But then like so many other things in Natchez, it means progress, hard work, community involvement of all Natchez's people(black and white) and dedication...nawwwww, let's talk about it again tomorrow though, ha!

Glenn Simmons, had such a vision for his old hometown. And his plans were amazingly simple and well thought out, but it was going to cost a lot of money and involve a lot of work, and give and take, so it never got done..the status quo is always the easy way out, especially when we're still living on Granpa's, grandpa's money or running the family business, or supporting the family lifestyle by selling off chunks of pre-civil war property.

The papermill is closed. Armstrong is closed. Georgia-Pacific is closed. The oilfield has been slowing closing for twenty years or longer. We have the people to build it, the leadership to get it done, and the best bunch of salespeople around. Woody Allen and his guys are doing the best they can with what they have to work with. Come on, people, we need to make a plan and stay the course or Natchez is going to end up Mississippi's "Lonesome Dove" where once a wonderful, beautiful city stood.

Posted by OldGrandDad (anonymous) on June 17, 2009 at 10:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

jimi, good ideas. But you are stuck in a catch-22 with the downtown stores staying open on Sunday. The streets are DEAD on Sunday and the merchants who have tried it have simply been burned. The tourists need to be here before the stores can profitably open and not the other way around cuz most have tried it. Besides, there are no signs directing out-of-towners to our downtown. All other towns courting tourists and/or dollars have signs directing people to the "Historic Business District". OUR tourists are left to explore for themselves, but I suspect that most continue driving on to the next town. Even little Pinedale Wyoming has signs pointing to public parking and restrooms for tourists. Not so in Natchez. For tourism we need some basics which, sadly, have never yet been done. And Natchez "leaders" apparently haven't got a clue.

Posted by jimi (anonymous) on June 17, 2009 at 2:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

OGD---I know. Remember when they had the "Open Sunday"? My wife and I made it a point to support the local merchants by taking a walking tour that day. We shopped in every store, and tried to buy some little something in each one.

But you're right, the streets were dead.

Posted by natashakubelikov (anonymous) on June 18, 2009 at 12:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Nobody is doing the tourist thing in Natchez much anymore,more and more people coming up behind us are not that interested in the old south,they have too much to worry about and have interest in newer things,the booming tourists business is gone,period,get over it and move on with something totally new.

Posted by natashakubelikov (anonymous) on June 20, 2009 at 1:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)

They need to leave business and folks alone and concentrate on whether they have to borrow a couple of million next time to pay bills...Run off some more business or make ludicrious regs and rules to make them struggle every step of the way..That,s what got Natchez in the poor house it,s in now. Don,t make concessions and help business,,reg and rule them to death.

Posted by natashakubelikov (anonymous) on June 20, 2009 at 1:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)

When people start bringing into homes and stealing everything daily that,s not tied down,the city won,t have time to worry about tormenting business owners,they will have to patrol the streets with the national guard. All that bull is just that bull. They need to figure out how to get some money coming in and not worry about a old home falling apart. That makes zero difference to the economy in Natchez,forget all that junk and move on to totally different ideas and money making business. The Old South is just like the movie...GONE WITH THE WIND.

Posted by srob (anonymous) on June 23, 2009 at 1:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)

wait, how is it legal to press criminal charges on someone for doing or not doing something, that either way does not put any other human in harm's way, on their own personal property? aye aye aye, corruption, corruption, corruption...