I need to respond to the joint editorial by Sen. Hocker and Rep. Atkins about the South Korean Allen Harim takeover of the now Brownfield status site, formerly of Pinnacle Foods-owned Vlasic plant on the Indian River. The position expressed by our legislators, that slaughtering two million poultry on the Indian River is an investment in our air and water, is either extremely naive or delusional.  The current status of impaired waters in Delaware - over 85 percent are not swimmable - should explain the result of such poor decisions.

In case our elected officials need to be reminded, the growth in Sussex County is due to people investing in the natural treasures of our environment. Tourism is responsible for the positive economic growth. Cape Henlopen is a treasure that photographers come to capture from all over the country. The beaches are clean and couples come to get married because of the natural beauty here.

People do not wish to invest in vacations where they cannot swim or need to run into their homes because they cannot breathe. The time is now to stop the thought process of “well, it’s contaminated now - can’t let it sit empty.” The people deserve forward-thinking elected politicians who recognize the value of true investment in our communities. Invest in projects that will attract positive growth while investing in healthy communities.

Beverly Fink
Long Neck