Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

 

Although I wouldn't know the mayor of Mountain View if I met him on the street, yet I do know Randy Reese after growing up with the fellow from childhood. Thus, what I know about Randy is that he is a plain talker and a straight shooter! If Randy tells you something, then his word is the god's truth. If Randy Reese has a flaw (and I have not found one yet), then it's his trait of being painfully honest by saying what you need to hear whether you want to listen or regardless of how it makes you feel. Truly, in this crooked world, we need a lot more honest people like Randy. Consequently, I was genuinely offended when I read the Mountain View mayor's comments that Randy Reese was a "bitter and disgruntled ex-employee" whose personal beliefs about the crisis in city leadership had "grown and distorted with time!" Be advised... tread lightly, sir!

Akin to Randy's detailed account of the mayor's alleged mismanagement of the Mountain View Golf Course (as well as the city pool, the community center, and various other infractions), I personally have a genuine concern about the lack of interest and support for the community library. As the second largest library in all of Howell County, the Mountain View Public Library is truly an overlooked gem that provides its free services to patrons like myself, but recently I have noticed the library struggling due to a lack of necessary support from the city.

The Mountain View Public Library has lost competent employees due to threadbare salaries that cannot compare to other minimum wage jobs. Due to the city's lack of financial support, the library hours have been cut since not enough government grants are available to make everything work. In spite of needing a separate technology person, the librarian must now singlehandedly cover all the bases, including janitorial work to keep the facility clean. While freely providing a source of education and enlightenment to the local residents (rather than merely being a cash cow for the city coffers), the library must be supported by the community that it intrinsically enriches beyond just "dollars and cents." 

As Randy Reese voiced sincere concern for the bungling mismanagement of the community's golf course, I also worry about the city's dwindling interest in our public library that formerly required great sacrifice by others to achieve.

What a tragedy to allow the community's gradual decline, one facility and one service at a time... simply due to incompetence and apathy.

 

Respectfully yours,

Edwin Woolsey