I saw a sad sight today as my husband and I drove down the street on our way out of town that prompted the following letter to the editor of my hometown paper.

To The Editor:

I was born and raised in Jamestown and have lived most of my adult life here. I love my hometown. I love the beautiful old trees, the red brick streets, the parks, the houses and the many attractions that invite visitors from far and wide to the area. One such attraction is the Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI). The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation describes the Roger Tory Peterson Institute as “a national organization dedicated to instilling in children an appreciation and understanding of the natural world.” One of the features I like best about the Institute is the trail that runs through the woods on its property providing children and adults information about the plants and animals that inhabit the area.

I consider myself fortunate to live near the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. Sadly, today as I drove past the woods I observed a man unloading a pickup truck full of yard waste into the woods. Not only was he dumping waste near the nature trail, but he was also doing it boldly in the light of day. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. I have observed this many times, but most people perform this ugly deed under the cover of night. One year, someone dumped construction waste at the entrance to the trail late at night. Recently, my husband found that garbage bags had been deposited at this same spot. And earlier this year, young people parked up and down Hotchkiss Street to gain access to the trail for a late-night party in the woods. There is no telling what kind of debris this raucous crowd left. Fortunately, the police broke the party up and the offenders have not returned since.

The thing that bothers me is that these are the same woods and trail hiked by children and other visitors to the RTPI. It seems to me that responsible adults would want to preserve the woods for these children and visitors rather than dump their waste there. To add insult in injury, there is a broken-down fence located where Marvin Parkway curves into Hotchkiss Street near the entrance to the trail. Violators take advantage of this poorly maintained “deterrent” and use this precise spot as a repository for much of their waste.

I would ask the City of Jamestown to better maintain the fence to deter the violators. And, I would ask the irresponsible adults who are destroying part of the treasure that is the RTPI to consider the children and other visitors. It is part of the Jamestown that I love and as a close neighbor would like to see preserved.