[My Gazette was delivered late this issue; but I write anyway, to object to the "reporting" cited below.]
The value of a community newspaper lies in its ability to treat local issues in some depth and with fairness and accuracy. Mike Salmon's May 7 article about the Hollin Hills creek plan manages to do none of this. As any residents and any members of the civic association board could have told him, this is a plan many years in the works and supported by a wide majority of the community. It was not devised by one community member and the project manager, but was developed by numerous county staff and contractors with ongoing community input. There has been transparency, community meetings, plan availability, walks through the parks involved. The small group of detractors apparently circulated a petition, but it has not been made public. The "fact sheet" also has not been widely circulated. At the very least, why did photos not show the gully that is now so dangerous the county has fenced it off. Frankly, who cares about the three odd photos that filled half a page? I encourage a real reporter to interview those Hollin Hills residents who are involved in this project and then encourage the editor to print a report that details the county environmental efforts that are of benefit to us all.
Lee Ann Kinzer
Mount Vernon