City needs rec center

Dear editor:

Back in the early 90s, we were stationed here with the Air Force.

When we retired, we, like so many other families, moved to Boise. Now we are back in Mountain Home again, having tired of all the crowds, traffic and pollution in Boise.

We think Mountain Home is a much nicer town this time around with a lot of potential. However, it lacks some of the amenities that would make living here a lot more enjoyable.

For instance, a recreation/community center.

Please don't misunderstand, the last thing we want is for Mountain Home to become another Boise. But a community, even a small one, needs community centers and indoor recreation places to keep its citizens happy and stimulated.

Having these things gives us more of a sense of connection with each other and pride in the community. There are much smaller towns than ours that support recreation centers (think Salmon and Burley). Why not ours?

I have heard the arguments against having the Mountain Home Community Center Complex built. Some people think that with the sour economy we can't afford to support a rec center here. We say that because of the economy downturning, we need a center here now more than ever. Having a place to go here for recreation and entertainment would help keep the focus off of always driving to Boise. I don't know about you, but we have cut back on our trips there because of high fuel costs.

Others say that we had a health club here years ago (What-A-Racquet) that didn't make it. I remember What-A-Racquet well. I used to work out there. But comparing it to the proposed MHCCC is not a fair comparison. It was very limited in what it offered and had zip in the way of programs or facilities for my kids or seniors. And now our population is a lot larger than when What-a-Racquet was around.

I volunteered with the WECRD last year and saw all the hard work and effort that the board members and staff have gone through trying to bring a community/recreation center to Mountain Home.

Now that the dream is coming so close to being a reality, why change direction now?

We're voting for Mollie Marsh in November to stay-the-course and bring this vision for our community that so many people want to fruition.

Beth and Ken Reed