Revitalization project moves along despite obstacles

WAYCROSS - Oak Street in Waycross has been overrun with crime and drugs for years, a once-proud place now often packed with loiterers who leave behind beer cans and wine bottles. <br> <br> A city leader envisions it as a revitalized haven for business and recreation, but he is running into obstacles from the government -- and opposition from some people who don&#39;t want things changed. <br> <br> The Justice Department promised a 175-thousand dollars grant to pay for after-school programs, tutoring and adult education. But the money was delayed by the chaos of September eleventh and slowed mail after the anthrax attacks. <br> <br> Carlos Nelson, director of the Oak Street project, called Operation Weed and Seed, says they were supposed to get the money in September. <br> <br> It should come soon -- but only because Nelson pressed the Justice Department, even faxing his documentation in an end run around the U-S mail. <br> <br> But there has been very little delay on Oak Street. Street sweepers clean up debris, police come around more often, and inmates on work details have cleaned a city lot where roses will be planted. Heaps of trash have been removed, and run-down buildings have been razed. <br> <br>

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