To the editor:

I was born in Detroit and raised there and in South Bend before living in California. My husband was born in Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles, and never lived anywhere else other than Southern California until we moved to Jasper.

In 1993, while in California and expecting our first child, we knew that we did not want to raise our children in a metropolitan environment, so we bought a book called "The 100 Best Small Towns in America." In 1994 we visited many of the towns in the book, including Jasper. After deciding where we wanted to move, we went back home and made a 2 year plan for our escape. My husband was prepared to quit a lucrative job he held for 16 years even if it meant we had to start from scratch. In 1996 we sold our home and with two toddlers in tow, we moved to a rental house (sight unseen) in Jasper. We've since purchased our second home here and as it turned out my husband still works via satellite for the same California company (for 40 years now).

Why am I telling you this? Because we, and many people like us, were prepared to sacrifice everything to live in Jasper. Of the tens of thousands of towns in this country Jasper had the honor of being chosen as one of the best small towns to live in because it is one of the few unblemished, unadulterated areas left in this country. We moved here to get AWAY from the metropolitan areas, their highways, pollution, crime, high cost of living and everything that goes along with an overpopulated atmosphere. But now, the politicians and the powerful interests they serve are intentionally overriding the stifled voices of the people they are supposed to represent. In planning the building of the Mid-States Corridor without the authorization of the electorate they are taking the first steps in turning this area into the next riotous Portland, Seattle or Chicago. Is this really the progress you want?

Elections have consequences! Don't vote for ANYONE who is for this Corridor!

— Patricia Crain
Jasper