Dear Jasper County,
Disclaimer: This post may make me sound like I have a "holier than thou" attitude. I assure you that is not the heart behind this post, I am here to just post some thoughts from an outside point of view. I speak with sincerity, love, and truth (at times, some hard truth) For those who don't know, I grew up in a small town named Ridgeland, South Carolina. The Wikipedia page for Ridgeland says as of 2010, the population was 4,063. Ridgeland is located in Jasper County. You could consider it your average, small southern town... and if you ask me someone should open up a restaurant that isn't Mexican food or pizza...but that's just my opinion. Just recently, I have seen several posts from home about the crime in the community, including murders, drug trafficking and gang related violence. Now while I am sure this has always been a part of our community to some extent, to see a place that I grew up in turn into a crime ridden safe haven has sadden me. This is my ...