An URGENT and IMPORTANT message for all Riverview Residents and Douglass Alumni:
PLEASE make plans to attend a specially-called community meeting on Wednesday, January 31st at 4:30 PM at the Kingsport City Hall, concerning the use of extra money that Kingsport is getting in the 12-million dollar HOPE VI federal funding grant for the Riverview Neighborhood.
In addition to the tearing down of the Riverview Apartments and the building of new homes, there will also be funds left over for the renovation of the Douglass High School building itself, the building of another gymnasium to go alongside the one there now, and even office space for your Douglass Alumni Association, as well as other proposed projects in the neighborhood.
Van Dobbins Jr. told the Reunion Committee meeting this past weekend (Photos in the PHOTO Section), that "it's very important to have a Black Presence at that meeting, to let the city know, we want to have a say in how leftover funds from Hope VI are spent in our Neighborhood. These federal funds will be matched by the City of Kingsport, and people in the Neighborhood need to show up and voice their opinions on this money.. if we don't attend and show support for spending the extra funds in OUR community, any extra money from HOPE VI could easily be spent someplace else OUTSIDE of Riverview."
This is a meeting all Riverview residents and Douglass Alumni should put on their calenders: Wednesday, January 31st at 4:30 PM, Kingsport City Hall. PLEASE BE PRESENT AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!
