Letter to The Editor: Pottstown not the 'boondocks'

6/12/02

Years ago, when I lived and worked in Philadelphia, people down there used to think of anything north and west of Valley Forge as the "boondocks." Those backwoods people up there probably lived a different lifestyle than our Main Line neighbors.

After I pioneered to Pottstown, it was apparent that our area was anything but the boondocks. So what am I getting at?

Apparently, our area is still regarded by power politics as the boondocks. Imagine the Main Line rage if their politicians allowed a racetrack or even a landfill dump on one of their spacious estates! To put it bluntly, we are at the hind end of the county so what they don't want, is excreted here!

When I mentioned our environmental health problems to a colleague who lives in the southern part of the county, he said "we would never stand for any of that." So, why do we have to?

In spite of all the letters from local people to The Mercury concerning environment problems and the hard facts raised by the Alliance for a Clean Environment backing up these concerns, our state still treats us like boondockers.

It is difficult to complain and not come up with solutions. I only hope we don't have to sit on 422 and block traffic as someone jokingly suggested, until we get some help. But all joking aside, we have to hope that they will start treating us better so that we can look forward to the same healthy life as our favored neighbors.