Atomic City Talk

This has been a safe haven for criminals for so long and it is going to take time to let them know there is a new sheriff in town. Until then we will have to endure and protect our children. Yes, the problem is worse here. Did you not hear the talk from the AG? We are the trafficing area for all of East Tennessee. It all runs through here. That will change, but not quick enough. Whether they are out of towners or not they are committing the crimes here and therefore it is OUR problem.

What I heard General Clark say was that Anderson County has the highest rate of meth lab shutdowns in the state (and since Tennessee leads the nation, I guess that makes us #1). He did NOT say that Oak Ridge has the most meth labs -- those things tend to be in the rural areas, as stills used to be.

That the drug problem among our youth is predominantly prescription drugs was also noted in his talk.

I don't dispute that the drug commerce is our problem, but if out-of-towners are buying crack here and taking it home, that means that some of our neighboring communities have their share of crack users... not exactly a real estate selling point.

"Wow...I did not know there were gangs in Oak Ridge at all even those who might come to do business...Now you have me concerned."

Where has your head been, and how deep? All one has to do is drive through the streets of Oak Ridge and know what one is looking for to see this particular phenom. You don't have to be a trained gang expert, just look things up on the internet.

The gang problem in Oak Ridge started out with Crips, there is some shift in that to Bloods. There is a large amount of Kansas City Cheif's Football Jerseys out there, KC, AKA Kill Crips. There are also several areas where there are Green Bay Packers Jerseys, the G standing for Ganster.

You thought they were football fans? 10 years ago there was a lot of North Carolina fans also, yeah, right. North Carolina is Crip blue.

Thanks, Jacket, for the gang info. That was all news to me (and from my impression I'm one of the younger posters on this forum).

Just serf a little and this stuff is evident. You are welcome. Saw a bad situation at Hilltop Pantry or whatever it is now one summer day. Two gangsters filling up at the pumps. One was wearing red, the other carolina blue in nearly identical garb but for the colors. Nothing happened while I was around but it could have been volitile had someone take offense to the other. Best I could figure it was "nuetral turf."

Meth is not the problem in Oak Ridge. What the General said is we traffic crack to all of East Tennessee. This was a speech he gave. Meth is a problem in the county but not in Oak Ridge. To think the problems do not exist is being naive.

This is one of the better (and longer) threads on this forum. A wonderful blend of reality, happy-talk, truth, propaganda and snark.

Oak Ridge is America. If you're willing to work hard, you'll get ahead. Run down in places, but proud of what it has. Crime, yes, but if you're middle class or more, the crime is, at most, petty. It's still safe to walk alone at night, unless you're a drug dealer or a buyer. It's wrinkled and graying (a bit more than most places) but has a sense of what it was and doesn't want to slip too far. Willing to look at new things (red light cameras), but rightly suspicious of hare-brained schemes (heh). Fond of it's rural ambiance. Loyal to it's main business.

Oak Ridge. We go home with the one what brung us.

Viva Oak Ridge!

We walk in two different worlds. The world law abiding people walk in is so different from the world the criminals walk in. They do cross when a crime is committed against a law abiding citizen. They know our world exists but we avoid their world or are not aware of their world. Their world it is out there and it is dangerous. To think of it as being safe is asking for trouble. Oak Ridge has many difficulties with drugs right now. Jacket, thanks for your facts. From what I have been told we not only have the Bloods and Crips but are now dealing with two International Gangs. The turf wars continue.

Please explain you view on this.

I'm not sure how much of this is true. You seem to start out with a mistake since Oak Ridge is not a sanctuary city.