Unfair Portrait of Moorpark

In all fairness to the many, many people working to promote cohesiveness and understanding in a community undergoing growing pains, the article “2 Ways of Life Collide in Fast-Growing Moorpark” (Sept. 10), must be addressed.

First of all, where did Gerry Brailo Spencer get her facts? Mountain Meadows residents do not enjoy the use of public swimming pools. Pools are constructed by developers and are paid for by private homeowner associations. The article makes it sound as if the snobs are draining public monies for these amenities.

And while on the subject of amenities, they are not all “up on the hill.” The only supermarket, library, community center and seniors center are all in downtown Moorpark. And so are the best dentist, optometrist and so on.

The article makes it sound as if “hill-people’s kids” have new neighborhood schools and must be bused into hell for fourth, fifth and middle-school grades. In fact, all of Moorpark’s children go to new kindergarten through third-grade schools, all of Moorpark’s children go to “old Flory and Chaparral” and all of Moorpark’s teen-agers go to the new high school. My kids are not afraid to go to school in Moorpark and they don’t know anyone who is.

The article was a real slap in the face to a group called Moorpark Youth Activities Committee, a group that works tirelessly and on a shoestring to “join Moorpark through its children.” These people bend over backward to make sure all children in Moorpark join in cultural enrichment and special activities. Activities are held up in town, downtown, over there (is it getting ridiculous enough yet?).

The incredibly narrow-minded, nasty generalization expressed by Joseph Latunski--”Now that the new group has moved into Moorpark, they want to get rid of the elderly, the Mexicans and the poor”--is an irresponsible, inaccurate and offensive remark that shouldn’t have been printed. You could have found many residents with more insightful comments about Moorpark’s problems.

Our children, the future citizens of Moorpark, need to get facts, not twisted and inaccurate hearsay, in articles about their hometown. Whether or not it’s UP, DOWN or OVER, it’s HOME.

BOB and NANCY BANE

Moorpark