Editor:
Thank you for your coverage of the meeting with Pam Silbernagle and Vicki Dugger and your continuing contribution to the momentum of a subject that is both painful and hopeful.
After I read the article I did some research and was struck by the many similarities between Sweet Home and another community, the town of Willits, Calif.
Though the galvanizing force behind Willits’ turnaround might be controversial, it brought their community together and created goals with a clear focus. Willits was also a logging town that ran into hard times and became “the stepchild of other folks who were always trying get through us to go somewhere else.”
Luckily, there just happens to be a small video on youtube that documents this turnaround; the direct link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4xEsBy2rIw (I think it can be typed directly into the url of your browser) or go directly to youtube.com and type in the search: “Escape from Suburbia returns to Willits CA.”
I hope that others might find some inspiration in watching this.
If Willits can do it, can Sweet Home?
Leslie Mendoza
Lebanon (but closer to Sweet Home)