To the editor:

Yesterday, May 11, I was driving on 108 from Columbus, headed for Tryon. I live in a house in the woods at the foot of Chocolate Drop Mountain. As I left my beautiful, leafy environment, with mountain laurel and flowers in bloom, I thought to myself: we have the trees on 108 now.

How nice it would be if we could catch the spark from Tryon and Landrum and have some hanging pots with some greenery.

Thank goodness for the flowers planted in front of the Polk County Tourism office and between the Courthouse and the Womack Building. There are flowers planted in front of businesses located in the block that houses Steps to Hope. Apart from that, there’s not much to soften the buildings.

Later in the day, I came home to find the mail had been delivered to my mailbox and I read the May 11 issue of the Tryon Daily Bulletin and Milton Ready’s Letter to the Editor, “A Monster’s Ball.”

It made me sad, because I resonated with much that Dr. Ready had written. Polk County has a jail that needs repair. It’s unsanitary and a threat to health. Something has to be done.

But, following the process of discussion as reported in the TDB and other sources, it appears that the necessary research has not been completed. There are too many specific issues regarding cost and location and how it will be paid for that have not been specifically delineated.

There seems to be too much haste in getting it started before the exit of some of the commissioners.

What troubles me most, however, is Ready’s point that the greatest cost will not be financial but social. According to Ready, the towns of Columbus, like Tryon and Saluda, have “closely knitted communities (that) personify family and traditional values.” Columbus is the county seat, and has importance as such. But the county jail need not be “dumped’ so close to the center of the town.

We’re just beginning to recover from the devastation of Chocolate Drop Mountain, thanks to kind efforts and generous support of the Polk County Community Organization, the Saluda Community Land Trust, and others.

It’s time for Columbus to take pride in being the county seat and to make our main thoroughfares and town/township environment reflect that pride.

Let’s beautify Columbus more and be slower and more considered and deliberate in making the necessary decisions of where we place the new or restored jail and how it will be funded.

~ Patricia Gass, Columbus, N.C.