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Editorial: The tale of our two cities: of north and south, here and gone On the south side of Ashland we digress - witnessing a divergence, another swerve in the socio-economic road. On the north side of Ashland we progress - witnessing a development, a harbinger of what our future holds. The Salvation Army announced this week that it is forced into shuttering the doors of its thrift store in the southside Ashland Shopping Center. "We could not afford the location," said the Army Business Administrator Pam Hawkins. The store provides discounted second-hand items and social service aid to Ashlanders in need of assistance. "I'm really bummed," said Rhonda Hynes, a regular customer, as she picked through the women's sweaters. "I'm really going to miss them. They do a community service for folks and this will devastate the community." As rents rise, as land prices soar, the cost of doing good deeds becomes unaffordable. That is the plight of the thrift store. And the Army is not alone. The Interfaith Care Community of Ashland is feeling the pinch as well. "Of course the cost of land � creates a problem for everyone," said ICCA Director Sharon Schrieber. "It's very difficult to provide the human services any population of any size needs � We pray every night somebody with a large discrete income will come in and buy us a house." To the north, the idyllic Billings property is poised for progress. Once a cow pasture with a pond, a friendly neighbor to Quiet Village - that stopped respectively at its border - the property will soon be a multi-home, high-end housing development complete with golf course. It's uncertain what this progress will provide to the community. Certainly, with its one-road access being W. Nevada Street, the quiet aspect of the village will be altered forever. Traffic will increase, not only on W. Nevada, but throughout the village as the new tenants seek the easier route from their new digs. Quiet Village did its job. Over its 40-year history there was affordable housing, a place to raise children, harbor an elementary school, and even suffer a wastewater treatment plant. Now, it has a new role: to provide passage for progress. One day soon a new community member on the north side will be sitting on the deck overlooking the golf course, and will not notice a lone figure walking along North Main Street, getting the dickens out of town. And the traveler, huddled deep in a coat not suited for the winter, will not as much as cast a glance over the Billings field. Because both will gone. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -