In early May, at the dawn of the war of the laundromat suds, Rossville resident David Roden rallied the troops.
“If we could stop it,” he declared, urging his supporters in an email, “this would be a small win in taking back our communities. It’s OUR community. We should have a say in its future.”
Roden, owner of the Mountain View Estates manufactured home community, says he is a reluctant leader. Earlier this year he became the face of the Wilson Road Neighborhood Group, a collective aiming to clean up Rossville, attract businesses to the Walker County, Ga., city and increase property values.
It’s a community effort, with about 100 people involved; Roden just started it.
For months, the group had shared dreams of a more prosperous community, one with more pride, more homeowners and fewer renters. But in early May, Roden watched from his office at Mountain View Estates as builders erected the walls of a laundromat across West James Street.