Forum site covers Haymarket

Forum site covers Haymarket
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By JACLYN PITTS
jpitts@potomacnews.com
Friday, March 10, 2006

Haymarket resident Jeff Patton said he'd never heard of the Town of Haymarket Community Web site until he found a postcard advertising it in his mailbox Wednesday.

Other town residents, like Patton, should have received the same postcard touting the forum site, www.townofhaymarket.info, earlier this week.

"Welcome to your best source of information and resident's opinions concerning everything Haymarket," the site's home page reads. "This Web site was created to allow anyone interested in Haymarket to voice their thoughts and opinions on a wide variety of topics."

The site's domain name is privately registered and the site is not owned by the town.

People can anonymously post their thoughts about the Town Council, police department or anything else town related, all under the guise of cleverly chosen handles.

The site's emergence rides on the heels of a tumultuous time for Haymarket, including troubles within the police department, changing mayors and debate over the town's future development, among other issues.

It's also an election year, which Councilman Bob Weir said he thinks may have something to do with the site developer's "personal agendas."

Weir said he thinks it's interesting the site doesn't go into issues he feels residents should be concerned about, such as real estate taxes, development and road improvements.

"It revolves almost entirely on personal attacks and on the police department," Weir said.

Weir said he hasn't heard anything positive about the site from residents, either.

"It's ridiculous," he said. "All it's doing is tearing the town apart further."

However, the site's Web master, who said he did not want his name printed, said he created the site "so residents would have a place to go to know about the town."

He also said he thinks not many people know what's going on in the town simply because they work full time, have families and don't have time to attend many council meetings.

Patton, a resident since 1999, falls into that category.

Patton said his biggest problem with the town is that he feels town officials don't adequately inform residents about ongoing issues, and he has no time to attend meetings to find out what they are.

Now that Patton knows about the site, he says he'll probably check it out.

Robert Godwin, a Haymarket resident of three years, said he's never heard of the site, either.

Godwin said he thinks the town has grown too much too quickly, and town officials are having a hard time keeping up.

"It seems like [town officials] half it when they do things instead of doing it right the first time," Godwin said.

Godwin and his wife moved to Haymarket from Alexandria for the small-town atmosphere, he said.

Godwin said his biggest issue with the town is the influx of traffic that barrels through daily.

However, he said he thinks the town's police are doing a good job patrolling the town, especially to catch speeders, and are "very visible."

Some do not share his sentiments, which is evident in discussion threads on the site.

"The way this PD is going ... They need to find a Cletus, that way you would have a bona fide tourist attraction:

Chief Rosco P. Coletrain

his trusty k9 unit Flash

Deputy Enos

and the new guy can be Cletus Hogg," wrote "realestate1" on March 1.

"Check it out, they could put a jump on main st and chase drunk politicians who are on their way home from local bars," the post continued.

On Monday, police chief James E. Roop addressed council members and let them know he plans to run the department as he sees fit.

Roop's address was just a few days after he sent a letter to the council and town residents saying he's tired of the town's "shenanigans."

The Web master said he paid for the site and the postcards out of his own pocket to help get more residents involved in the half-square mile town of about 1,000.

The site has been up for about a month and it has received about 1,000 hits since the postcards went out earlier this week, according to the Web master.

The site has been up for about a month and gets about 220 visits every day, the Web master said.

While browsing the site, users can see how many people are signed on and when forum topics were last updated.