Essential to elect Whitney

Dear editor:

Taxpayers from the recreation district are giving WECRD $413,000 a year.

It is time for the community to have an event center and Leanna Whitney on the WECRD board is crucial to achieving this.

This could have been done five years ago if the WECRD Board of Directors would have been willing to work with the City of Mountain Home and other local civic and recreational groups to use their taxpayer dollars and support an economic development program to build a multi-purpose community event center.

It is time for a change in the leadership of the WECRD.

It is time for taxpayer dollars to be used for the good of the community to reach the goal of having a community center that can be used for recreational and civic functions.

It is time to build a building that can be supported and sustained by the collaboration of WECRD with the use of taxpayer dollars to guarantee a tax base to support a construction project through an Economic Development Project.

The next step to the long term sustainability of a successful community event center is the collaboration of the City of Mountain Home to provide the long-term sustainability and municipal structure to apply for an Economic Development Project and to support the daily operations of such a building.

The most important step for long-term success is the collaboration with the taxpayers who belong to the civic and recreational groups who would use, raise revenues to sustain and maintain the building, and through their involvement bring in people from outside the community to use the buildings for their events.

If the essential component of collaboration is to be achieved, Leanna Whitney must be voted in on the WECRD Board of Directors to represent and advocate for entities that want to work together for a common goal.

This has been done in another community that has the same demographics as Mountain Home and they have proven over the last ten years the ability to use a single building for motocross, equine, soccer, concerts, bazaars, weddings, parties and other events big and small.

We can have an Event Center, construction could be started within months and the building could be in use this time next year if WECRD is willing to collaborate.

Collaboration is the key and it begins with the leadership in WECRD. Vote for an Event Center in Mountain Home. Vote Leanna Whitney for WECRD Board of Directors.

Willie Heckathorn

Irene Heckathorn

Jan Landon

Sheryle Landon

Dave and Stephanie Bergh

David H. Kellerman