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Man wants to see his tax dollars at work, asks for help in his neighborhood

2 years 7 months 3 weeks ago Tuesday, March 29 2022 Mar 29, 2022 March 29, 2022 7:48 PM March 29, 2022 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A man contacted 2 On Your Side after he's been trying for decades to get a problem solved on his street. The issue was taken care of in early March, but now he says there's more work to be done.

Eddie Hawkins works at the capitol as an Assistant Sergeant at Arms. He says when it comes to upkeep, his neighborhood feels left out and forgotten about.

"We just can't seem, really, to get anything done," he said.

Hawkins lives on Scenic Highway near I-110. It's a busy area with lots of traffic, but he says no one is getting busy taking care of the area.

"I just don't appreciate the way we're being treated as taxpayers and citizens here," he said.

Hawkins called 2 On Your Side about a rotten utility pole that he's been complaining about for a long time. He says he's contacted the Public Service Commission about it on several occasions.

"When we started complaining about that pole - to show you how long that was - Kip Holden was a Metro Councilman," he said. "When you add that up, that's almost 40 years!"

Kip Holden served on the East Baton Rouge Metro Council in the 1980s. He then went on to become a Louisiana State Representative, a Louisiana State Senator, and EBR Mayor-President.

The pole was replaced by AT&T earlier this month after 2 On Your Side contacted the company. Hawkins says it shouldn't have had to come to that.

"You mean to tell me for four decades we tried and couldn't get anything done, we make one phone call to you and it's up there? There's something wrong with this picture," he said.

Hawkins says the work is far from over. There's another utility pole problem. Hawkins says the pole near his house was hit by a driver in 2016. Part of it is sticking out of the ground and the rest is lying in the grass.

Entergy crews went out and removed the pole Tuesday afternoon.

From here on, Hawkins hopes the part of the city where he lives is paid closer attention to. That the grass is cut, the bulbs in the street lights are changed, and he sees his tax dollars at work.

"We just want to be treated fairly," he said.

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