To the editor:

I’m sure everyone's getting or has gotten their letter in the mail involving the casino proposal. I am not completely against or completely for it at this time, but I urge people to look at not just what it will do (or not do) but where it will be. As you will notice, the primary development area goes into the environmental protection area. This is just a proposal after all, but if we were to have new business in the community (not necessarily the casino) it would be in my greatest interest to use the buildings that are unoccupied first, rather than destroy more land for further development.

While I understand that these are two seemingly unrelated topics, it later came to my attention that the bike path we have on the bridge is somethingI truly appreciate. People I know without cars travel in Portsmouth to their jobs by that bike path. I agree we should extend the path to further places, but why not extend it to the Bristol bike path? I am aware there are certain obstacles, the Mt. Hope Bridge for example, but it would be worth it if people could find a way to connect them as well. I am in no way informed on how you could add a path to that bridge, but it sure would be nice!

The connection I see between the casino and bike path is one many would; money. I don't know if we would get the money we need from a casino or a mall, but for the people that always complain about taxes being too high, we should be spending our money in our town and occupying the areas we already built things on. I love seeing pictures in the paper of Coastal Roasters and the Muddy Moose etc. because they are local places I love to go to.

The only thing I can say to conclude this is, if you are a local, if you complain about the issues of being a local or you hold this little town somewhere in your heart, it is important to always keep an open mind, always know there are other ways, and in your busy schedule always find time to give back.

Grace Simpson

Tiverton