To the Editor,

In this period of national recession, some citizens of Mount Airy believe that there is no sun up in the sky, that Mount Airy has a questionable future, and life as they have known it will never return. I, for one, do not believe any of that. Why? Because Mount Airy is a unique community that stands out from others in its population group in North Carolina and the nation.

This uniqueness has a direct bearing on:

1. The quality of life for the existing population.

2. The attraction of Mount Airy as a nationally recognized retirement destination.

3. The attraction of Mount Airy for tourists.

4. The attraction of Mount Airy for the expansion of existing businesses.

5. The attraction of Mount Airy for the location of new businesses.

This uniqueness includes the following components:

1. Outstanding municipal government services, including the fire, parks and recreation, police, and public services departments.

2. Attractive landscaping of municipal government property, including the municipal government campus (Andy Griffith Playhouse and attached Surry Arts Council program and administrative offices, police headquarters, public library, Municipal Building, municipal amphitheater, municipal green, and Reeves Community Center), municipal cemetery, two major parks, a fitness greenway, municipal parking lots, downtown mini-park, and traffic islands of municipal street system. (Two more parks and a second fitness greenway will result from the Ararat River Conservation and Recreation Project, which will begin in the next 60 days.)

3. The Mount Airy Public Library which offers a variety of media items for loan, along with public use desktop computers, and a wide variety of children, youth, and adult programs to citizens of Mount Airy and the surrounding area of Surry County.

4. The Surry Arts Council, which through the Andy Griffith Playhouse, its class room, the municipal amphitheater, and the Downtown Cinema offers a very comprehensive variety of programs and continuing education activities for the citizens of Mount Airy and the adjacent areas.

5. The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, which through its facilities provides a wide variety of exhibits and continuing education activities for the citizens of Mount Airy and surrounding areas.

6. The Surry County Senior Center, which offers with its facilities and in cooperation with the Mount Airy Parks and Recreation Department a wide variety of recreational, cultural, and health/fitness activities for Mount Airy and other Surry County citizens age 50 and over.

7. The presence of several Surry County services located in Mount Airy, including Emergency Management, Fire Marshal’s Office, Emergency Medical Services, Veterans Service Office, Senior Services, and Social Services.

8. The presence of an outstanding area hospital and the medical practices that compliment it in care for all medical problems other than brain surgery.

9. The location of a branch of Surry Community College devoted to career development, and the convenience of the nearby main campus of SCC.

10. The various non-profit organizations in Mount Airy that offer a very wide variety of activities and projects for the citizens of Mount Airy to become involved with.

11. The wide variety of available professional, technical, and skilled businesses and services; commercial shopping opportunities; and recreational and cultural amenities that can be found in the Mount Airy Economic Synergy District (within the city limits and three mile beyond the city limits) that makes going to another urban area a choice, rather than a necessity.

12. The people of Mount Airy for their special brand of helpfulness and friendless (Mayberry lives).

Peter F. Lydens

Mount Airy