Dear CDFCU, Please do not build a shop where the public garden once was! I used to love going to the public garden. The last time we went everything was plowed down. My little sister and I cried the whole time!

In my opinion, there should be another garden planted! It would also help the community!

Lillie LaPlace

What happened to the community garden?

This week, my daughters and I drove to the Coulee Dam community garden to pick raspberries, as we love to do at this time of the year. As I was parking the car by the credit union I stared in disbelief: The garden was gone!

Gone were the poppies, the roses, the peonies, gone were the great rows of vegetables, gone were the prolific fruit trees and gone were our beloved raspberry bushes! Only a few vestigial roots were left. Everything else had been mercilessly pulled out!

My youngest daughter burst into tears and my throat tightened at the view of the horribly barren land that had replaced our wonderful community garden.

I had noticed recently that the charming landscaping around the Credit Union had been replaced by a more “commercial and stark” looking mixture of stones and greenery. I thought it looked rather unpleasant, but I never imagined that the garden would be the next victim of this destructive campaign.

The Credit Union apparently decided that flowers and fruit trees were not a pretty sight and did not look professional enough!

The community garden was a real asset to the town. Adults and children loved to go there and feel the thrill of picking their own flowers, fruits and vegetables. It was maintained by two great people who devoted a lot of their time to please the community.

Coulee Dam already lost its swimming pool, its movie theater, now the garden is gone. Please do not let this happen!

Tell the Credit Union to please give us our garden back! Think of your community and speak up! Remember, time is of the essence as no commercial property stays unused for very long!

Cathy Laplace