Letters: Supervisors need to stop overlooking Smith River

This letter is in response to the May 28 letter to the editor written in Spanish, regarding conveying a message to the Latin community ("Letter in Spanish addresses McClure's accomplishments") I will write this letter in English, although I am fluent in Spanish, and I read and write Spanish.

I see new development everywhere, literally, in our downtown area, new homes being built all around us, and I support that. Improvement is good for everyone. However, that is not the case in Smith River, where there is plenty of land ready for development, but for one reason or another, building permits are not granted and if so, rarely.

Smith River is an underdeveloped community. It is part of this county of Del Norte. Millions of dollars in federal grants have been given for housing development in Smith River and even with that, building permits were not granted. I have heard every excuse under the sun why permits could not be granted for development in Smith River, I also have seen development going up everywhere, except in Smith River.

We will see what the future brings. Many words are said during election season. I just hope that when the elections are over, whoever is elected to the county Board of Supervisors will not overlook the underdeveloped area of our county.

As the CEO of the Del Norte Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, I do not believe letters to the editor need to be written in Spanish. What is the purpose? Letters need to be written in a language where everyone can understand what is being written. It is important to be considerate to everyone around us.

You want to get a message across to the Latin community, an easy way to start is to begin development in Smith River.

Lisa Serrano

Del Norte Hispanic Chamber of

Commerce CEO and president

Smith River