My hope is this letter will cause a positive reaction for our community. I have been reading our local paper. It makes my heart very heavy to read some of the things I have seen as of late. It is a very sad thing to see so many pointing fingers in blame. Even at our own local paper, which you have no problem using to point those fingers.

Should we not be extending our hands with help and solutions instead? We are only making our community look bad and petty. I would like everyone to take a short break from your anger and dislike. Maybe your quest for control. Ask yourselves if you were a tourist reading our paper, would you find our behavior appealing? We are doing what most of us have tried to teach our children not to do. We are name calling, blaming and fighting over who should be line leader. What kind of example are we setting? We can’t all be in charge, but we can all be involved. That is what it will take to make our town heal and grow.

We have had a lot of unpleasant issues to deal with, but we can’t begin to build our future looking over our shoulder. We have learned, now let’s move forward.

I ask you don’t sit on the side and complain. Jump in and help. One of the most important phrases I have ever heard is “United we stand, divided we fall.” Our country was built on that. I know it will wookr for us, too.

Bartlett is a hometown community. It isn’t about just downtown or which side of town you live on. We are all equally important to Bartlett. This past weekend we celebrated as a community. I understand it is frustrating to the business owners downtown. They deal with the noise and music. The cleanup is quite a job. However, we must remember downtown is the heart of our community. It is a business district. The people of Bartlett have accepted owners residing there, which for the most part is a wonderful thing. However, the sidewalks and streets are still public. Can we not find it in our hearts to share?

I am asking the people of Bartlett to come together, lend a hand or idea to start reaching some solutions, instead of creating more animosity and roadblocks for OUR HOMETOWN!

I would like to thank our newspaper for allowing us all to share our opinions, the City for their support, the Chamber of Commerce for all their hard work and, most of all, I would like to thank the people of Bartlett for showing they care by participating.

Mona Burnett-Barker