CITIZENS GATHER FOR FIGHT AGAINST CRIME

A woman was murdered outside Marian Jackson's Ninth Avenue South home several years ago, and problems with drugs and other crimes occur daily in her Southside Columbus neighborhood.

"We need a lot of change in our neighborhood - especially with drugs and crime," Jackson said.  "I see a lot of things happen in the neighborhood, and it's time to bring on change and for everybody to come together."

Jackson joined some two hundred other community members Saturday for the morning "Rally Against Crime" held in downtown Columbus to show support for local crime-fighting efforts.

"( The rally ) is a very good effort - I wish when I moved over here in the neighborhood I would have gotten with the neighbors to see what was going on," Jackson said.

Jackson grew up in St.  Louis - a city she said was no place to raise children.  Jackson, a mother of four sons and one daughter, has lived in the Southside community of Columbus since 1987.

Concerned citizens, civic leaders, elected officials and law enforcement officers attended the rally at the intersection of College Street and Fifth Street South on the humid weekend morning.

Mayor Jeffrey Rupp, who noted great police and fire departments could not act alone to keep communities safe, thanked those in attendance for making the commitment to look out for each other.

The rally served to promote the Aug.  3 National Night Out on Crime and Drug Abuse as well as an effort by the Southside community to secure a "Weed and Seed" anti-crime and neighborhood revitalization grant.

Amanda Stanton, Val Richardson and her 7-year old daughter Maria carried signs supporting the local police force at the event.  Richardson's husband, Donald, serves as one of CPD's community relations officers.

"We live in the Southside community and we wanted to come out and show our support for the Night Out and Weed and Seed," Richardson said.

Dist.  41 Rep.  Esther Harrison and District Attorney Forrest Allgood both spoke in favor of the "Weed and Seed" program.

"They had this program in Tupelo in a crime-ridden area, and in something like two years they reduced crime by 80 percent," Allgood said.  "We really need to get behind this and support it, it is a good thing."

A photograph was taken of all attendees from atop the WCBI-TV building and will be sent to the U.S.  attorney's office in Oxford - the administrator of the federal "Weed and Seed" program - to help convince federal officials the city is serious enough about fighting crime to earn the grant.

The $250,000 grant from the U.S.  Department of Justice would help instill a program that would work to "weed" out criminal activity and plant "seeds," or services to combat crime and improve the area.

To be eligible for the grant, the community must show unified support for the program.