ESPN Article Insults Florence.. and Residents Kick Back !!

Florence has always had an image problem. It's not the most exciting place to live, it doesn't have a niche that you can point to, and it has it's share of crime.... But for the most part, it's a decent place to raise a family, it's close enough to the fun spots, and it's a lot cheaper than the coastline...

I guess when people come in from New York or LA, it doesn't show much to them however. This happened recently in an ESPN article chronicling the decline of former Dallas Cowboy and Florence native Clayton Holmes. It describes East Florence as " a downtrodden area in a downtrodden town, littered with doublewides , McDonalds wrappers , papers and condoms" - or something to that effect. It even dissed Orangeland Seafood. It definitely was not complimentary.

Now, i do understand that you might embellish to dramatize an article, and East Florence leaves a lot to be desired, but the writer went a bit far on this one. My guess is that he either flew into the airport, which is on the east side, directly across from the abandoned mobile home dealerships, or he drove in from I-95, where you go down Lucas Street - another black eye on for Flotown.

But, Florentines have not let the insult go unanswered.... At least 20 people have e-mailed the author of the article, who issued an apology to all parties he offended. One of them was Florence School District One Superintendent Larry Jackson, who was a teacher of Clayton Holmes .....

Sure, Florence has a way to go to improve itself, and some of the city's leaders seem to be getting in the way of that progress, but if this guy had driven a mile down the road to the west side of town, he might have had a different opinion. Then again, that doesn't sell magazines.

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