Letter to city board
Dear editor:
To the Hot Springs City Directors:
Please consider that the majority of folks who live not only in Whittington Valley but across the city, do not want a rehab center in our historic residential community. Some of you feel it is a necessary service, but having it in Linden Park is not necessary. It really falls to all of you to stand up for us, and we were happy that you voted to deny it when you met last month, and now I am tense and sad, thinking that we may be facing a problem that we didn't have to have.
If it happens, we will be stuck with it. The community came out in force to make their wishes known. And by voting no, you respected the people who live here, who voted for you, and all of those of all ages who enjoy Whittington and Linden parks for recreation and play, as a place for youth sports teams to practice, for regular exercise, quiet walks, and biking.
This rehab center is just a bad idea. When we were in the meeting last month, it became more and more apparent that the owner/director had given the Planning Commission different information than he was giving us, and you city directors.
The truth? Who knows? Are the men free to walk around? Off property? The Linden Park playground is just a few yards from the rehab property. The owner/administrator evidently told the Planning Commission that the residents would be able to walk in the park, be a part of the community, but in the meeting with us and all of you, they said just the opposite.
The lady from the church said that they picked up a churchgoer and brought him back, called ahead, etc. It sounded totally opposite from what they had said before. I believe in second chances, but this group seems to be desperate to use this particular facility in a way that brings a lot of questions to my mind. Please consider what could happen and also what will.
I am confused as to why we are revisiting this again so soon. I know that the Mayor allowed it, and it seems just wrong to go against the will of all the people who were there that night in opposition.
If you voted to approve the rehab center, please reconsider and work to find a location in a nonresidential neighborhood. Please consider supporting the wishes of the people who trust you, worked to get you elected, and who believe that you care about them and that their quality of life, preservation of our historic districts, and the well-being of our citizens as your priority.
I write this letter with all due respect, and with sincere hope that your vote will reflect that the work you do is for our citizens first, and for your neighbors and constituents who enjoy Whittington and Linden Parks day after day, year after year.
Thank you for your consideration.
Milly West
Hot Springs
Don't 'reconsider'
Dear editor:
Using his power as mayor, Pat McCabe has decided the city board should "reconsider" an issue voted down just last month.
In May, the Board of Directors rejected issuing a conditional use permit to Covenant Recovery to operate a "supposed" 48-bed drug rehabilitation facility in the middle of my residential neighborhood, the Whittington Valley. But at Tuesday's agenda meeting, Mayor McCabe decided to place this item on the board agenda for "reconsideration."
I have to ask, "Mr. Mayor, do you not like us in the Whittington Valley? And how often do you resurrect a decided issue and put a whole neighborhood -- and the city -- on pins and needles once again?"
The Board of Directors made a decision. That decision should stand. How many times has a board decision been "revisited" after being voted down (and in such a short length of time)? None that I can recall.
We in the Valley feel betrayed by both our mayor and our city director, Erin Holliday. Both voted for this project.
Ms. Holliday justifies her decision by saying the proposed facility will serve only drug users guilty of "minor" offenses, such as marijuana possession. Perhaps Ms. Holliday and the mayor should consider Mr. Lourenco Lee, who was recently reported by Little Rock Channel 7, as being the subject of a police manhunt after leaving Covenant Recovery's Pine Bluff Facility. According to the news report, Mr. Lee cut off his ankle monitor and just walked away!
A search of the Department of Correction's public inmate database reports Mr. Lee's extensive criminal history, including convictions for residential burglary and theft by receiving. Mr. Lee was assigned a "maximum" risk level by the Department of Correction when he was placed with Covenant Recovery. Seems to me Mr. Lee's escape from Covenant Recovery was a foregone conclusion.
So, how many prisoners like Mr. Lee will we have here in Hot Springs if Covenant Recovery is granted approval to operate a 48-bed facility in the Whittington Valley?
And given the above facts, does it seem reasonable to bring this matter back up for reconsideration?
Mr. Mayor, your decision to revisit the issue of placing a 48-bed drug rehab facility in the Whittington Valley (again, which was voted down just last month) and have the board "look at it again" suggests muddled thinking. Perhaps working double shifts at your hotel, plus working full time as executive director of Levi Hospital and being mayor, is proving too taxing.
To the citizens of Hot Springs, I say, "Get involved." This issue affects everyone. Talk and email your city directors. Write letters to the editor. Attend board meetings and have your voices heard. And perhaps we can find true and caring people to govern the "great little city of Hot Springs."
Hopefully, the board members who voted this issue down will see fit to do so again.
Verna Linder
Hot Springs
Letter writer remembered
Dear editor:
Dear friends of our mother, Pat Pine Darnell,
Some of you may have seen our Mother's obituary in the paper a couple of months ago. We lost her in February, but we wanted to wait until there was some relief from the virus to have her memorial service. We have planned for a gathering of her friends and family at Arlington Hotel, Sunday, June 20. Her service will be at 2 p.m., followed by a fellowship dinner at about 4:30 p.m. Afterward, we will have an evening of music, sharing, reminiscing, and dancing. (You may remember that mom always closed her letters and emails: "If you have to walk on ice, you may as well dance.") Her protege and close friend, Rick Warren will be playing Mom's favorite hymns and pop standards, but come prepared to sing and make your own music.
We will be not be wearing black, but shades of blue and turquoise, Mom's favorite colors, in memory of a most colorful woman. She loved Hot Springs, and all of you lovely Hot Springs people. Although we had to move her to where she could be with family, there was not a day that went by that she was not asking -- no, demanding (smile) -- that we take her back to Hot Springs. You were always in her heart and on her mind. It was always a source of great gratification for her that The Sentinel-Record chose to publish her letters to the editor on a regular basis. She saved all of these clippings in a dedicated scrapbook. Many thanks to the editorial staff!
We hope that you will be able to join us on June 20 to celebrate the life of our mother, Pat. It would mean so much to the family. We would love to meet you and/or reminisce and/or catch up with what is going on in your life.
We hope to see you all there!
Thank you for loving our mother. If you are ever out driving in early spring, and you decide to drive north on Hamilton Dairy Road, about three miles on the side of a gentle hill, you will see a yellow carpet of flowers on the right. These daffodils were Mother's pride and joy and the fruit of the labor of her own hands. Simply give a smile or nod and enjoy the beauty, and Mom would be very happy.
God bless you all.
Patti DeWitt
Tamara Byrd
Laurie DeWitt