Leave decorations out of election

There seems to be some confusion in Round Lake Park regarding the decorations: hay bales, pumpkins, ribbons, whiskey barrels and Christmas trees. I am writing in order to clear this matter up. The hay bales, red ribbons and pumpkins were all bought and paid for by business owners on Main Street. All the work that went into putting them up and taking them down was done by the business owners. This was our attempt to help better ourselves by giving ourselves notoriety in the area and to boost our clientele base and appearance. We have done this for three years. The business people resent the fact that our attempt at bettering ourselves has been drawn negatively into the political arena. We as the business group do not take a political stance. Our intent is to better ourselves so we can better our community, doing so through good service and quality products.

For us to be made fun of for displaying hay bales and plastic ribbons, particularly by a candidate that wants to be mayor yet downgrades the people he is supposed to represent, is highly offensive. The decorations were just that: decorations. We understand the difference between decorations and revitalization; we just hope that the candidates know the difference. Our attempts to better ourselves have nothing to do with either particular party, past, present or future. We feel as though politicians should not use our efforts to further their own cause. This year, our village tried to help the business people help themselves by offering to pay for whiskey barrels and Christmas trees to help decorate the town. It was just their attempt to help the business people. The business people did not ask for this help, however we do appreciate their effort and we thank them. I hope this clarifies where and why the decorations have existed in our town.

Ray McCarty

Round Lake Park