In response to the Ellen Marcus column in the March 16 issue of The Pilot, we totally respect your opinion and your right to offer it. However, you need to know all of the facts. As the beloved Paul Harvey would say “And now, the rest of the story.”

Various complaints are submitted to the Pinehurst code violation compliance officer each day. Every complaint is visually observed for determination as to its validity. If a code violation is observed, a certified letter is mailed. This office receives 800 to 900 complaints a year.

In the instance of the children’s swing set, it was not addressed to be removed but to be relocated to meet the village ordinance. This was accomplished with the owner’s compliance. The basketball goals were located on the Village right-of-way, which resulted in the children playing in the roadway endangering their health and safety. These were relocated onto the owners’ property and “hoops” are now are in full swing. In both instances, the young property owners did not investigate properly the village codes prior to the installation. You state the young mother found it necessary to travel to the post office to pick up the certified letter. A baby stroller is not a code violation, therefore, this owner had other violations for which she was being cited. If she states the stroller was parked four hours, the compliance officer would not have had time to visually observe it, as it takes several days to travel throughout the area on observation tours. You may want to ask if you may actually see the certified letter for the other violations. I would think she was driving to several locations, and the post office was only one of several stops that day.

To park a fishing boat overnight for loading or unloading would not induce a complaint call. I have personally observed boats sitting several days or even weeks in the yard. These are the persons who stretch the time limit and ruin it for the others. If you will take a moment to reflect on your “bitter old fogies” statement, you will see that most of us have relocated here for the beauty, safety and ambiance of Pinehurst. We have worked 40 to 50 years, raised and educated our families and envision enjoying our golden years in an area with excellent medical facilities and the peaceful life we have earned, with the desire to preserve our investment.

We old fogies pay our taxes and require only the bare essentials in return. We pay for the school expenditures, parks, roadways etc. You will also observe that many old fogies volunteer in many ways. We tutor and mentor your children; we work many hours a week at the hospital, college and libraries. Many of our “fogie club” have fought bloody battles during wartime to preserve your right to free speech. Oh yes, by the way, we did not get away with bad public behavior; one look from our mother or father was enough to keep us in line. Not so today.

I feel you need to spend more time exploring and lobbying for additional funding for education and less time on us old fogies. As taxpayers we spend $6,000 a year to educate your children and $25,000 a year to house our criminals. The fewer facilities we have for children the more criminals are created. You do the math.

I am not only writing this in response to your column, but I challenge you to attend a Pinehurst Community Appearance Commission review session any Tuesday at 9 a.m. The CAC reviews over 300 plans for new homes each year and responds to all community appearance issues. Our 11 members are volunteers and expend over 250 hours each per year and add about 800 miles a year on our cars.

I invite you to follow with me on our final jobsite inspections prior to occupancy by owners. I will show you several sites that will open your eyes as to other issues more important than baby strollers or basketball goals. Fill up your gas tank before coming; we will criss-cross Pinehurst. We do this with the objective to make Pinehurst a better place to live.