To the editor:

Two things happened this past week that I want to comment on.  First, it was great to read that construction has started on the Longplex Sports Center in the Tiverton Industrial Park.  In a recent conversation with planner Marc Rousseau, he assured me that other projects are being developed there also. This is great news to this resident who has been concerned about the lack of an expanded tax base in Tiverton and a lack of development in the Industrial Park.

The second event was receiving a letter from Save Tiverton, presumably from the same group that "saved" us from a nice shopping area.  From their point of view the proposed casino is a "curse".  I view the casino and hotel as yet another way to expand the tax base.  As adults we make choices about where we spend our time and money.

It has been disheartening to have the clergy so involved with the casino issue.  Every week in the local news, there are issues with drunk driving, underage drinking, domestic abuse, rampant drug use and animal abuse and cruelty in Tiverton and surrounding towns, but I have not read any response from the clergy about these real problems which are destructive to families. 

As we vote this fall, perhaps, we will make decisions that will be good for Tiverton and for the average Tiverton taxpayer.

Carolyn Wieman

Tiverton