What's wrong with being 'friendly' to new businesses?
To the Editor,

After being at several Town Board meetings and planning board meetings all I hear from the chamber and several business owners is Wal-Mart will affect Bath in a bad way. Wal- Mart wasn't here when a lot of the stores and industries went out of business. They weren't here when the do-gooders made the Dana Lyon School yard and tennis court look like a junk yard.

Bath needs to be a friend of new businesses and not a impairment. The little town of Hammondsport had 11 bed and breakfasts in the village. Two of them close to Hammondsport on the lake and five outside of the village. If they average 10 people per business that's a lot of people who spend their money at local restaurants and stores. Bath has none. That's where the being friendly to new businesses comes in.

Instead of knocking new businesses, try to lure new ones into the village so Bath will have something offer instead of recycling everyone out of town. Lets hope Wal-Mart doesn't give up and bring its store to Bath.

Leonard O'Dell

Bath