Meeting was handled well

To the editor:

As an attendee at the Mat-Su Borough Assembly hearing for the resolution in support of the proposed Wishbone Hill coal mine, I disagree with your interpretation and reporting of the event. As an attendee at many Mat-Su Borough hearings, I disagree with your position on the order of testimony.

Testimony at borough, city and community hearings often become repetitive after one hour (20 people, three minutes each = one hour). Mayor Larry DeVillbiss gave both sides a total of more than an hour to testify. Also, regardless of the issue, the opponents always seem to out-number proponents. If one side truly outnumbered the other on an issue, the “switching back and forth between lists” would demonstrate this fact. There would not be enough pro-issue supporters or opponents to continue the process in that manner.

As for the apparel at the event, there was one woman who seemed to represent a majority of the residents with whom I have spoken about this issue. She wore both an orange T-shirt and a yellow hard hat. Her apparel and quiet demeanor, whether intended or not, seemed to demonstrate a neutral and well-informed center, waiting for the process to illuminate whether or not the coal mine will truly be a devastating disaster or a wonderful boon to the residents of the Mat-Su Borough.

Beth Fread

Palmer