EDITORIAL: Representative or cat’s paw?
Bob Desmarais, President of the School Lane Hills Neighborhood Association, has scheduled a meeting for 7:00 PM on Monday, July 13th at the Lancaster Country Day School.
Some, including NewsLanc, have suggested that the School Lane Hills Association was used to deflect resistance from the neighborhood to the proposed relocation of the Norfolk Southern rail road to its close proximity.
The first public Association meeting drew a crowd of approximately eighty persons, most of whom wanted F&M and General Hospital to explore alternate locations. Desmarais side-stepped the request for larger dues and the engagement of an attorney to represent the community’s interest. Instead, he insisted that John Fry, F&M’s president, would resist pressure but would be receptive to discussion. (Fat chance!)
The Association then misled its members into attending an F&M-sponsored meeting used by F&M to fulfill a governmental requirement for public input. The newly formed TRRAAC organization which sought an independent study of potential locations was not permitted to put on a presentation. Instead its members were required to speak as individuals.
Desmarais will have an opportunity at the July 13th meeting to rebut accusations that he served the interests of F&M College and LGH. Hopefully the meeting will be well attended. (Tar, feathers and ropes should be barred!)
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