November is National Hospice Month and National Family Caregivers Month. I believe this to be an excellent opportunity to recognize how vital caregivers are to our community. Professional caregivers make meaningful and humanitarian contributions to the Cary area and to communities all over the world.

This particular profession’s approach to care utilizes strategies to provide comfort and reassurance to those who are ill, as well as their families. As fellow caregivers in our community, we honor caregivers for the invaluable service they provide to those seeking physical, emotional and spiritual support. The nation’s caregivers were justly recognized in the 2003 proclamation by President George W. Bush, who said: “Every stage of human life deserves to be treated with respect and care. Their contributions make our nation a better place.” We encourage our community to remember the compassionate care and emotional strength of caregivers during National Hospice Month and National Family Caregivers Month.

Ronald L. Maness, Brown-Wynne Funeral Homes, Cary

Duped in Holly Springs?

Holly Springs now has big-town politics. We now have a town board member that needs a paid political consultant to get him re-elected. A badly split town board that consists of bullies and those bullied and traumatized by baseless rumors and innuendos by a furtive first-term board member that tells the voters anything to stay in office.

We now have duped citizens who voted for candidates who think it should be desirable for everyone to just get in their car and drive to other towns to work and entertain themselves — heck who cares about the less fortunate in our community who need jobs close to home — unless, of course, they want to work for the landfill or clean houses.

We now have board members who think it is more important that we give the surrounding towns more tax revenue and jobs. Holly Springs’ citizens really don’t need property tax breaks, especially not those who are on fixed incomes, right? I mean seriously, do we really want people who can’t afford to live in Holly Springs living here? If we don’t then the right people won this election. Is this progress or a step back in time?

Linda Hunt Williams, Holly Springs

Towing not good for business

Something disturbing happened to me last week in Cary and, if it persists, could easily hurt businesses in downtown Cary.

On Monday, Oct. 29, a friend and I had lunch at Cindy’s House Cafe on 140 E. Chatham St. in downtown Cary. There is a large parking lot next to Cindy’s, which is for the customers of the Tenacious Hair Salon and Kuttin Edge, both at 156 E. Chatham St. It was clearly marked on the building that parking in the spaces adjacent to the building was for customers and everyone else would be towed. Both Tenacious Hair Salon and Kuttin Edge are closed on Mondays. Also in the parking lot but next to the street are three parking spaces. There is no street parking where those spaces are, but street parking is available further up the block.

When I arrived at Cindy’s there was no available parking on the street near the restaurant. I saw three cars in the Tenacious parking lot, one next to the building and two in the spaces next to the street. I read the towing signs on the building and avoided those spaces, but did not think the ones by the street were controlled by Tenacious. So I parked in the remaining third space by the street.

Five minutes after I sat down in the restaurant, I saw my car being towed past the restaurant window. It was towed by Colt Land Towing and Recovery on 8045 Chapel Hill Road, located only blocks away from where I had parked. I had to pay $135 in cash to redeem my car. This incident raises several questions.

1.Who owns the parking lot used by Tenacious Hair Salon and Kuttin Edge?

2. Might the parking spaces parallel to Chatham Street be in the town right-of-way?

3. When a business is closed, even though the business may have the legal right to tow violators, does it make sense for the business to do so?

4. If the businesses were closed, who called the towing service?

5. Might Tenacious and Colt Land be dividing the towing costs as incentive to tow on Mondays, the least necessary yet, according to the locals, the most active day for towing?

6. When faced with a choice of where to eat and shop, why would I go where I’m inconvenienced?

I usually enjoy shopping in downtown Cary, and Cindy’s Café is one of my favorite restaurants. That’s why I’m taking the time to make this incident known rather than simply avoid Cary. This type of predatory towing, similar to what Raleigh recently dealt with, will certainly affect businesses in downtown Cary.

Mary Marchese, Holly Springs

Wreck found

For many years, I had known that my uncle, U.S. Army Air Force 1st Lt. Irwin “Zipper” Zaetz, had disappeared along with his entire crew on Jan. 25, 1944 when his B-24 Liberator aircraft “Hot as Hell” failed to arrive at its destination of Chabua, Assam on a flight over the “Hump” from Kunming, China. Then, this past summer, I was surprised to learn while surfing the Internet that an American investigator, Mr. Clayton Kuhles, had discovered this aircraft while searching for aircraft wrecks in Arunachal Pradesh, India in December 2006. According to the report he filed with the U.S. government, he found the wreckage in the mountains of the district of East Siang. Since learning this news, my father and wife and I have spent every spare moment searching for relatives of the other crewmen, and working with the U.S. government to arrange the sending of a recovery team to the site of the crash, where human remains are reported to have been found. We are hoping that the government of India, the government of the state of Arunachal Pradesh, and the U.S. government will cooperate, in the spirit of humanitarianism, to recover the bodies of our loved ones and return them to us.

If you are interested in more information on this, or would be willing to assist us in this effort, please e-mail me at garyngina@earthlink.net. Thank you for this opportunity to get the word out about this matter of great importance to eight families.

Gary Zaetz, Cary

Don’t forget Kiwanis Club

I have read your article “Strike up the bands” and think it’s great of you to call attention to the high school bands. I know many volunteers are needed to make a success of this annual event. One very important detail was omitted, though. For over 20 years, the Cary Kiwanis Club has given their support to the Cary Band Day by selling popcorn, peanuts and nachos to the attendees of this event, then giving over the entire profits to the Band Booster Club. The Cary Kiwanis members volunteer their time from 8 a.m. until the end, which is around 11 p.m. It would have been nice to have them mentioned in your article to give recognition to the club for all its good deeds. Also, letting them know they are appreciated.

Trudy Hawkins, Cary

Park West well-considered

The proposed Park West Village project in Morrisville is understandably generating a lot of conversation among town officials, staff, neighbors and the project’s developers. Town banners pronounce that Morrisville occupies the heart of the Triangle area. With such a geographic predicament the town will continue to develop. The proposed Park West Village is a well-considered mixed-use project that promises to bring the type of shops, restaurants, offices and residences that creatively will serve new and existing Morrisville residents in the years to come. The developers have committed to hundreds of thousands of dollars in traffic improvements along N.C. 54, Cary Parkway and Morrisville Parkway, which according to town planners will significantly improve peak time vehicular movement through these congested intersections. They have also committed to off-site improvements for stormwater runoff and neighborhood traffic calming. The project is not perfect. But it represents a monumental improvement to the vacant plant now situated on the real estate and to the predictable strip centers that occupy so much of the area’s retail landscape presently.

Craig Stephenson, Morrisville

Park West will benefit area

A few of us in the homes closest to the proposed Park West development discussed its implications, attended the appropriate zoning board meetings, contacted our elected representatives and recently met with a surprisingly open developer to address our concerns. Given the price of the land involved (more than $23 million) and the location — in the rapidly expanding Cary/Morrisville area — the real question about this 100-acre tract is not whether it will be developed, but when and with what?

As concerned neighbors who’ve put time and energy into understanding the issues, we’ve concluded that Park West is the best available alternative.

Its lifestyle design and greenery, the “Main Street USA” look and attention to aesthetics will be a notch up from other big shopping centers in the area. We do wish the proposed housing involved owning instead of renting. But the units are being built to condo standards, so if the financial and housing markets change before completion they could be sold instead of rented. We wish that future four-lane roads were already built to provide access sooner. We want to accelerate traffic improvements, and we want the town to consider what it would take to lengthen the improvements on N.C. 54 to Aviation Parkway. It is important to all involved to make those improvements as soon as possible. We’ll continue to register these issues.

The town’s negotiated resolution of resident concerns have become part of the deal, and any remaining concerns should also. We achieved a resolution of our local traffic hazards by addressing the zoning board and thereafter they worked with the developer on a plan to address them. Considering the many ways in which a large development such as Park West affects everyone, we strongly urge those with concerns to do the same. There are many other uses to which this expensive piece of property could be put, and there are several uses to which it could not realistically be put, due to its price.

The current plan will benefit our area. We’ve found a town and a developer who invite residents to get their needs met if they’re willing to invest time, thought and energy. Delay would put financial pressure on the developers to realize a return on their investment and to consider uses that would be faster and cheaper, with fewer zoning changes and a path of less resistance. The proposed development is designed by a development group that has an available track record. If this proposal fails or is delayed too long, the resulting alternatives probably wouldn’t be as good.

Steve and Pat Hodges, Morrisville

Rebuttal to Millers

First a letter from Laurie Miller in The Cary News, followed the next week by hubby Brent, both avid boosters of Mayor- Elect Harold Weinbrecht. Each of them appears greatly concerned with my expenses and each seeks to spin the truth in their own fashion.

The Cary News and News & Observer were right to air views other than those supported by the Millers. Each of them is incensed that others should have the same freedom of expression as they themselves demand. I spoke up when Glen Lang and Harold Weinbrecht tapped into the unrest created by the rapid growth of this community but I spoke of the hypocrisy each exhibited in that campaign. I spoke up this time because Weinbrecht’s campaign followed the same tactic.

It has taken years to get the free spending damage created by the Lang/Weinbrecht term in office under control. Now that both Millers have weighed in with their biased “viewpoints” let’s all keep an eye on the next four years and where our taxes are when that time has elapsed. Mr. Miller speaks of 10,000 Cary citizens and his own version of “the truth” while ignoring the fact that his figure represents less than 10 percent of the population. I stand by what I said and the only apology should come from those who are so consumed by politics that they spend copious amounts of time on political Web sites and writing letters to newspapers without divulging their own fanaticism. The die is cast. Let’s let the next four years speak for themselves.

Tom Joyner, Cary

Thank a veteran

I would like to remind everyone that the Veterans' Day Holiday isn’t just about a day off from school or work. It isn’t about shopping bargains. On Veterans Day, we should remember all the veterans who fought in wars to keep our country safe and free. Both of my grandfathers fought in wars. I’m glad they came home safely because not all soldiers live through the wars. Please remember to thank a veteran.

Jeff Woodard, Cary