By Kelvin Wade
Why do knuckleheads always screw up things for the rest of us? Years ago, there used to be a club on Parker Road by Travis Air Force Base called Cecil’s. Good music, drinks, a little dance floor. My friends and I would go in there on a weekend and see the usual faces. But people from out of town started showing up and fights started breaking out. Following a few violent incidents, the club was closed down.
Just this past week, I ran a column about how Fairfield was growing into a destination. We were growing an identity. I mentioned the role Pepperbelly’s, a comedy club downtown, was playing in that process. The venue had brought name talent to town.
Then last week, some fool shot someone in Pepperbelly’s. A crowd of hundreds spilled into the street. It took officers from multiple jurisdictions to quell the unrest. Five people were arrested.
Of the five people arrested, only one was from Fairfield. Make no mistake, we have plenty of homegrown idiots and troublemakers but there’s something doubly frustrating about people coming here from other communities ruining ours.
It’s frustrating seeing Fairfield’s name in the regional news always associated with violent crime. The Associated Press picked up the Pepperbelly’s story so there’s no telling how far the story will travel. We don’t want potential visitors or potential new residents to hear the name Fairfield and think, “Where have I heard that name before? Oh yes, that’s the place where (insert violent crime here).”
When the news came that Pepperbelly’s was closing, it was another stinging blow. But the subsequent news that it will reopen under new management was welcome news indeed. It’s important that we continue to support Pepperbellys and other local businesses that help define Fairfield in a positive way.
I’m sick of thugs ruining things for decent people. I’m sick of punks scaring off good folks who just want to be able to go out and have a good time. We can’t be scared off and let all the bad apples grab the headlines.
Shop downtown. Walk downtown. Eat downtown. Let the thugs go somewhere else.
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