Hill Canyon Golf Course

In her letter published April 28, Sylvia Lewis Gunning has much to say “at the risk of offending a few friends” about the proposed Hill Canyon golf course. I was not in the least offended but was somewhat surprised by Ms. Gunning’s lack of knowledge and selfishness.

She says that there are 3,500 card-carrying golfers in Thousand Oaks. These are avid golfers who join country clubs or other clubs in order to establish a handicap to play in tournaments or to keep track of their progress (or, more often, regress) in the sport. The great majority of golfers do not join these organizations but just play for recreation. I’d bet Ms. Gunning that there is a set of golf clubs in 90% of the homes in Thousand Oaks.

I am not an equestrian. But there is a group of equestrians in Thousand Oaks and it’s a darn good place to practice their interest. I fully support tax dollars going to provide facilities for them.

I don’t play soccer; I don’t even like it. But there are those who are into it and I fully support tax dollars going to provide facilities for them.

I don’t hike trails (I’m too tired from walking the golf course). But I fully support tax dollars going to support trails so that those who do not abuse them can hike and ride.

I’m sorry that Ms. Gunning does not understand or want to understand the most cerebral of sports, golf, which demands more perfection of performance than any sport I have ever played.

I guess people like Ms. Gunning consider environmental reports, such as the one on Hill Canyon, the same as they do the Constitution: When they are in your favor, you stand diligently behind them. When they don’t reach the conclusions that are in your interest, they are irrelevant or illegitimate.

MIKE HANNIN, Newbury Park

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Hill Canyon is a wonderful mini-ecosystem with valuable species, both plant and animal. Destruction of any part would not only make a nice contribution to the overall deterioration of our natural world but also end opportunities for children and adults to enjoy the awesome habitat in its original state.

Putting aside the issue of financial gain from building a golf course here, it is my understanding that the Thousand Oaks City Council’s rationale for destroying this environment is for recreational purposes, ultimately for the betterment of human living. If this is the main quest, I urge the council to consider the following:

“Those who dwell . . . among the beauties and mysteries of the Earth are never alone or weary of life. Whatever vexations or concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living.”

--Rachel Carson

Carson expresses her concern much more eloquently than I, but I am proud to stand beside such leaders. There is nothing “beautiful and mysterious” about a golf course, which would drain our water supply and ruin the well-being of plants and wildlife.

I would encourage you to visit and learn more about our beautiful canyon and our relationship to it, both biologically and perhaps spiritually. Then hopefully, you will realize that there are some serious sacrifices and decisions that we must make in order to defend this environment . . . as small and insignificant as they may seem.

Just as we become part of the huge problem of pollution by throwing a tiny piece of trash on the Earth, we may instead become a part of the increasing effort to clean up, preserve and prevent the planet’s deterioration by allowing Hill Canyon to remain undisturbed.

DANIEL E. ROSCHKE, Thousand Oaks