Gangs..Problem?And how prolific/Areas? (Springfield, Joplin: houses, employment, to buy)

[Fed up]

I am wanting to move to the Bolivar area.I am going to find employment in Springfield.Is there a large gang presence in Springfield?Are there any gang task forces?How about the public schools?This is a concern as I have a young daughter who will be attending JR/High-High School.I really want to avoid any areas where there would be a gang presence.One other thing,is the road from Bolivar to Springfield acessable in periods of high snowfall? Thanks.

[Ozarks21]

The gang question is a very timely issue. The Prosecutors office has successfully pushed for and established a grand jury to bring indictments of criminals in an attempt to nip gang activity in the bud. There have not been any serious gang problems in the area in the past. In the last year or so there have been some indications that some are trying to get a foothold. I have never personally seen any indication outside of the newspapers.

As for snowfall, there have only been about 5 days in the last 7 years that I can recall having enough snow to be a problem on the roads. Even with serious snow, Hwy 13 would be one of the first roads to be cleared.

[DeeMac]

I found a few websites for you - for Springfield Public Schools, Bolivar Public Schools, and the Gang Task Force website:
http://springfieldpublicschoolsmo.org/
http://www.bolivar.k12.mo.us/
http://associations.missouristate.edu/nogangs/ (broken link)

I grew up about 30 minutes west of Springfield, went to college there (MSU), met my husband there, and lived in Spfd until our daughters (twins - now 12) turned 2. We were ready to buy and home, but didn't want to raise the girls in Springfield (being a small-town girl myself) so we started looking at the surrounding communities.

Not surprisingly, we ended up in my hometown. Our town has just over 4,000 residents, a thriving downtown square, and is close enough to both Springfield and Joplin for an easy trip, but far enough away that we don't have the problems facing some of the towns closer to Springfield (Republic, Ozark, and Nixa).

High snowfall?! What's that?! Any kid around here will tell you that we don't get enough snow - no snow days at all last year. We usually do have a few inches at a time - it'll snow and then a couple days later the temp will be 50 and it will all melt. I hate to use the MO cliche, but...."If you don't like the weather just wait, it'll change." We do have occasional frozen rain - that is a much bigger concern than the snow.

The highway between Springfield and Boliver is Missouri 13. It is a main highway and is kept clear during snow and/or ice. The one thing to know about highway 13 that it is nicknamed "Bloody 13" because of all of the wrecks that have occurred on it. It is in the process of being widened, but for years has been a 2-lane highway which carries A LOT of traffic and has many crossroads off of it. I googled the highway and found this newspaper editorial excerpt from early last year:
"Along the northbound stretch of Bloody 13 between Springfield and Bolivar, crashes happen twice as often as on similar roads in our state, according to a News-Leader analysis of state accident data published Sunday. In the last five years, more than 900 people have been injured between Springfield and Humansville on Bloody 13."
If you would like to read the full editorial, you can find it at: http://springfield.news-leader.com/o...shipneede.html

Truly, SW MO is a great place to live. Be prepared to slow down your pace and wave at passing motorists - even if you don't know them.

[Fed up]

Thanks for responding.I will remember to wave.Here when someone waves at you it's either to rob you or brandish a weapon.If you wave at someone 1st,they will mistake it for a gang-sign and turn around and follow you.And for gods sake,if your in So. Cal. and someone asks you " where you from?" look away and dont make eye contact.Cant wait to get the heck out of this hell-hole.

[DeeMac]

That's kind of scary. The waving here is important because, if you neglect to wave at your neighbor or neighbor's sister-in-law's cousin....you'll hear about it at the grocery store. "I waved at her earlier and she didn't wave back! I wonder what's wrong." The funny thing is, we have some new neighbors from California (a couple houses behind me). It took the longest time for them to wave as they drove past. I would be watering my flowerbed, right next to the road, and they would drive by like they didn't know I was there - like they were intentionally looking the other way. They must be getting used to things because they do wave now.

The greatest thing about living in the Ozarks is the kindness of others. If anything happens in your family, to your home, to your dog, help will be given to you - even if you don't ask for it.

[Fed up]

Originally Posted by DeeMac

That's kind of scary. The waving here is important because, if you neglect to wave at your neighbor or neighbor's sister-in-law's cousin....you'll hear about it at the grocery store. "I waved at her earlier and she didn't wave back! I wonder what's wrong." The funny thing is, we have some new neighbors from California (a couple houses behind me). It took the longest time for them to wave as they drove past. I would be watering my flowerbed, right next to the road, and they would drive by like they didn't know I was there - like they were intentionally looking the other way. They must be getting used to things because they do wave now.

The greatest thing about living in the Ozarks is the kindness of others. If anything happens in your family, to your home, to your dog, help will be given to you - even if you don't ask for it.

Thats actually great to hear.Thanks.Cut the Californians some slack. Its just SO not like that here that I can see it taking awhile to adjust,.no one waves here as stated.I wish it was different but its frightningly not.Thanks again.

[MoMark]

Originally Posted by DeeMac

That's kind of scary. The waving here is important because, if you neglect to wave at your neighbor or neighbor's sister-in-law's cousin....you'll hear about it at the grocery store. "I waved at her earlier and she didn't wave back! I wonder what's wrong." The funny thing is, we have some new neighbors from California (a couple houses behind me). It took the longest time for them to wave as they drove past. I would be watering my flowerbed, right next to the road, and they would drive by like they didn't know I was there - like they were intentionally looking the other way. They must be getting used to things because they do wave now.

The greatest thing about living in the Ozarks is the kindness of others. If anything happens in your family, to your home, to your dog, help will be given to you - even if you don't ask for it.

DeeMac..I'm from California via Las Vegas and people wave here at me, and I have to force myself to wave back, but often I've already driven past when I recognize my faux pas.. Waving at strangers is just unnatural for me and I'm having to focus on it. When I see approaching cars when I'm out in the country, I force myself to think... "OK, people here wave and they remember what you drive... WAVE!". ... I'm trying to make it a habit...

[Fed up]

MoMark,I feel for ya man.It would seem so strange to just wave at someone you dont even know.I like the concept tho

[christina0001]

I know what you mean! When I lived in NE Pennsylvania, everyone waved. Now I am in New Jersey and no one even makes eye contact, much less wave. It's very sad.

[RCL]

Originally Posted by DeeMac

That's kind of scary. The waving here is important because, if you neglect to wave at your neighbor or neighbor's sister-in-law's cousin....you'll hear about it at the grocery store. "I waved at her earlier and she didn't wave back! I wonder what's wrong." The funny thing is, we have some new neighbors from California (a couple houses behind me). It took the longest time for them to wave as they drove past. I would be watering my flowerbed, right next to the road, and they would drive by like they didn't know I was there - like they were intentionally looking the other way. They must be getting used to things because they do wave now.

The greatest thing about living in the Ozarks is the kindness of others. If anything happens in your family, to your home, to your dog, help will be given to you - even if you don't ask for it.

I empathize with those neighbors. They may have been oblivious to being waved at at first, because in CA you do not make eye contact with anyone you do not know unless you want to get flipped off or told "what the .... are you looking at?" If you don't recognize the car, it doesn't matter if you see waving inside of it, you just assume they are waving at someone else, look straight ahead and mind your own business. You never know if someone has a gun or if they pull over and roll down the window and you walk up to ask if they need help then they might try to rob you...or another typical scenario is for someone pull over and roll the window down like they want to ask directions, and when you walk up to the car they expose themselves . It's really a different world there. Some people have the temperament to live in those conditions, but I'm not one of them.

I do miss the ocean and the variety of different foods available, and diversity of the people (by diversity I mean not just ethnic but also education, personal background, different cultures, ways of life, political/theological interests, etc.) it can be interesting to a certain degree, but other than missing those few things, I'm so thankful to be out of there. I can't wait to get to MO in a few weeks to see it in person for myself.