East or west? It doesn't really matter

I recently learned of an east and west side of the White River conflict. Comments would be made to me about it being nice to see someone from the paper "over here" while I was in Bloomfield.

I asked my high school friends, and they said they had never heard about any conflicts. As a former Linton-Stockton student, we spent most of our high school weekends circling Linton and Jasonville because that was where the majority of our friends lived.

We never had a problem with the Bloomfield kids, and I made friends with a Bloomfield girl while working fast food in Linton.

I kept hearing snippets of this river conflict. I was at a meeting in Bloomfield one day where another Lintonian was present, and I heard someone say, "How does it feel to be on this side of the river?"

Since no one in my generation knew, I went to my grandmother. She knew exactly what I was talking about. A former Linton-Stockton student herself, she explained that in high school, Linton kids and Bloomfield kids did not get along.

I was shocked that I had never heard of this issue. Many adults still have a grudge against "the other side of the river."

I guess the issue got lost somewhere as generations passed, and I am glad I didn't have to deal with the conflict when I grew up in Linton.

I spend a lot of time in Bloomfield. I go to school board meetings, Chamber of Commerce meetings, town council meetings, and have spoken with many businesses in the area.

I hear older generations say young people hold too many grudges, but this is one we have obviously moved past.

We are Greene County, which consists of several small towns conjoined under commissioners and county councilors.

We need to work together, and not think of the river as a separating barrier. Rather than a barrier, we can think of the bridge as a scenic transition into another part of the county.

I have lived in Linton most of my life. When people ask where I am from, I generally say Greene County. When my friends are coming home from college, they tell everyone they are visiting the GC, which is what we refer to Greene County as.

We can work together as a county, but we have to keep communication lines open. Let's not look at one another as rivals, but members of the same community.

We need to band together as our county changes, especially with such drastic changes as Interstate 69 bisecting a portion of our small county.

Think of it this way, Linton, Bloomfield and all the small towns are important. We all have something to offer, considering Bloomfield is the county seat and Linton has a movie theater.

Sabrina is a staff writer for the Greene County Daily World. She can be reached by telephone at 847-4487 or by email at swestfall@gcdailyworld.com .