Small town drama.
There is nothing else like it.
Everybody knows everybody.
And memories have a long backlog.
Church people will never let you forget past sins.
But that's what keeps life in a small town going.
Controversy and scandal are just part of the DNA.
That's why they're featured in so many "Criminal Minds" episodes.
Redditor zztop610 wanted to hear about all the scolding hot tea in our neighborhoods:
"People who live in small towns, what is the hot local controversy right now?"
Dump Site
"Some guy put some dumpsters on his front lawn and is competing with the town-run transfer station. He was also donating any money he made off scrap metal to anyone who would run against the former Mayor's campaign."
- DCmayor
This Is Fine GIF by 100% SoftGiphy
Center of Town
"Council is looking to build a brand new community center with indoor space for basketball, pickleball, community meetings, and a library."
"However, they want to place the community center in the heart of the town - on a baseball diamond that many people worked to build about a decade ago."
"The baseball diamond is hardly ever used and has fallen into some level of disrepair, but the town is up in arms because of the amount of work that is essentially being overwritten for the new community center."
"It's particularly pissing off residents as well because there were trees planted in memory of several well-known people who helped make the baseball diamond a reality, and those trees need to be removed."
"At this point, factions are forming on the Facebook page, and everyone is mad at the other side. I've seen a lot of people I know to be pretty level-headed throwing some serious shade at people they usually consider friends."
"It's not as interesting as our last controversy, which involved a local zoo that had lions that kept escaping their enclosure and walking into the streets, but it's the most recent one, anyway."
- DannyBoy001
Peace Out
"This lovable dope/lowlife everyone loved that worked at the only Dunkin in town was rumored to have died. Someone mentioned him in an RIP post in a local FB group, and the town revolted all at once in mourning until the lowlife in question spoke up and told everyone that he just moved out of state with family."
- airshipkindly
8 step-dogs
"My dog’s girlfriend just had puppies. She’s the dog next door, and every day comes to my back door with a toy. I let my dog out, and they play together and swim. Then they come back, have lunch at my place, and nap together. After a couple of hours, they wake up and she goes home. They have a great relationship."
"Which is why I haven’t told him the puppies aren’t his, and he’s neutered. His best friend is the father. My other neighbor's dog also comes to visit, and he actually knocks on the door for my dog to come out and play. Apparently he’s been walking right past our house and having sleepovers with my dog’s girlfriend at her place."
"Now there are 8 puppies that look nothing like my dog. He either doesn’t know or doesn’t care, and I’m worried he’s too young to have 8 step-dogs."
- The_Town_of_Canada
The Geese
"Bird flu was found in the local geese population of which we have a LOT. They had killed hundreds already but went out to cull another big flock and found them all dead already. Hundreds of them."
- Drachenfuer
birds goose GIFGiphy
We've been waiting!!
"Someone discovered job listings for a Target in our town, so now everyone thinks a Target is coming! But that rumor has been around for decades. We have three Walmarts but no Target. The closest one is 35 minutes away."
"The person provided screenshots of the job listings. They're seemingly real. A local person with real estate connections says they've been told that they're buying a certain plot. Who knows."
"WE MIGHT GET A TARGET!"
- acostane
Running Wild
"Some redneck is letting their husky run loose constantly, and it keeps killing the neighbors' chickens. Threats are flying every which way on the town's Facebook page. The dog will unfortunately probably die because its owner is a dumba**."
- lysistrata3000
"This sounds like the same s**t my parents went through. It was a mountain community and no one had fences, so the dogs would run loose at night and they formed their own little dog pack, getting up to mischief. Well at first it was a chicken or two, but then one night Bob heard his animals making a ruckus and went out to discover what he thought were coyotes killing one of his goats."
"So he got his gun and killed it. Turned out to be the neighbor's dog who, get this, was pregnant by the other neighbor's dog. They all got together and established rules about locking up the dogs at night to avoid this in the future."
- fromfrodotogollum
Big Ted
"Not a controversy, but my absolute favorite remote northern BC story."
"Some areas can only communicate via radio and satellite links. So the local radio station gives daily road condition updates in the winter as they are radioed in by community members."
"One particular long section of a very remote 'dirt man' didn't have any reports come in, so in the news/weather guy asked if anyone could chime in on its current state."
"A minute later, the radio crackled, "Nothing out here but me and moose. I've named him Big Ted."
"For the following at least three months I worked out there (oil and gas comms), we got daily reports on the status of Big Ted with every road report."
- AllTheDaddy
Flooded
"A local church volunteered to allow about 15 homeless people to stay there overnight on an emergency basis if the temperature got too low. Residents were not at all happy. They flooded the local city council meetings. One person complained that we spend too much time worrying about the unprivileged and need to worry more about the privileged."
- Absolutely_Fibulous
Destruction
"If the Marriott builds as many units on the land it bought as it intends, it will overwhelm the water and sewer capacity of the small Mexican town where I am living. Our water supply will dry up, and our inability to process waste will result in befouled beaches and cholera."
- Major_Honey_4461
Thief
"Rich guy in my town is taking apart the local government. He hired a lawyer and started asking questions about every rumor and secret that everyone already knew to be true. The elected folks hit him hard, but it didn’t make a dent, and now they’re scared and resigning and covering s**t up."
- Proper_Enthusiasm485
Replacements
"Whether the new Mexican restaurant which replaced an old Mexican restaurant is closed temporarily or permanently, and how soon it will be replaced by an even newer Mexican restaurant even though everyone complains that we already have too many Mexican restaurants but they won't support anything else."
- misskitty767
mexican brock GIFGiphy
Divided
"Our Stewart’s is getting a fancy new, improved building! Very exciting. Unfortunately, this means the Subway, one of 2 restaurants in the village, and the only one open past lunch, will have to move. This has locals very divided. The location Subway wants has some residents up in arms at the thought of the extra traffic. The new location would be a block away from the current location.
- vroomvroom450
DUI
"A city council member got pulled over for suspected DUI and went on FB saying it wasn't fair because the prosecutor's girlfriend got pulled over for DUI a few months ago and the prosecutor heard the call on police scanners and showed up and told the cops nothing to see here, go home. Now everyone is arguing about it on FB and the prosecutor went into the comments calling his detractors 'orange-fingered Cheeto eaters.'"
- GoneshNumber6
Miracles
"A Dollar Tree is being built… literally right across from a Family Dollar."
"The town tried to block it from happening and got overruled so construction has resumed. We wanted small businesses… not another dollar store."
- BananaApologist
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Some of these towns need a little more drama.
And who knows; perhaps a war between "Dollar Tree" and "Family Dollar" could be reality TV-worthy.
Small town life is something else.
