Giving credit where credit is due

To the Editor:

I was very pleased with your article regarding the great turnout for the Relay for Life function. My wife and I have lived in Troy for the past 15 years and managed a business there during that time. For the past 10 weeks we have been living in a hospital room at the University of Washington in Seattle while my wife has been receiving cancer treatments for her diagnosis of leukemia.

The purpose of the function, awareness of cancer, and the money raised was great but I was very disappointed in the article you allowed to be written in your newspaper. Both Troy and Libby participated in the Relay for Life and BOTH communities were responsible for raising the funds and creating the awareness. Al Randall, a cancer survivor in Troy, was responsible for promoting the program and for obtaining participants in Troy to be involved. I know because my wife had several luminaries on her behalf .

As I have mentioned I have been involved in the community of Troy for several years and this is an active and positive community. The folks there support many many functions and programs that could not get off of the ground floor in Libby. When I first moved to Troy an old timer when asked what the community was like told me "we may fight among ourselves at times but don't ever step on our toes or you will have a fight on your hands by the people here." In other words Troy works together for the better of the people in the area and will do what it takes to grow and help others.

As a newspaper for the area you should be aware of the connection and differences between the communities of Troy and Libby and be sure to show support for both if you want your newspaper to receive support from the people. A newspaper can be very instrumental in the growth of the communities it covers…..or it can be responsible for building walls between the two towns and creating friction.

Donn J. Ross

Troy