[computerwolf]

Originally Posted by TexKan

You can forget having that lazy quiet small town feel -

I used to get that feeling twenty+ years ago when I first started coming to Dodge. I don't see it, much less feel it anymore. I used to drive down brick-lined streets with nice old homes and well-cared-for lawns, whereas now I see dilapidated buildings falling apart, many with 5 or 6 families living in them, yards unkempt, etc. We used to drive all over Dodge at Christmas time and look at all the displays people set up, a good indication (to me at least) of people trying to make neighbors and visitors feel good about themselves and the season. I suspect that the lack of decorated houses we saw this last Christmas probably had something to do with vandalism and the like...of course, the cost of electricity might have had something to do with it, too. Wyatt Earp's all torn up causing traffic jams, stores and restaurants closing almost as fast as they open.

No, I don't see Dodge as a lazy, quiet small town. That's gone forever.