MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

To the Editor:

We wanted to express our gratitude to those who have been involved with the progress towards building the access road and infrastructure into our neighborhood on Lakeview Drive and Rapp Road in Granite City.

To date the house that was sitting at the proposed entry to the new road has been used for training area firefighters. From the beginning we were told that they would do this after the home was purchased.

I'm sure this provided invaluable experience for the firefighters and I know it provided hours of entertainment for the neighborhood children as well as adults during the ongoing drills. It was both informative and comforting to watch the training as well as skill the many firefighters exhibited knowing that if the time should come for them to use these skills to save our neighborhood or homes in the area, they are well prepared.

At the end of its usefulness, the house was promptly torn down as promised to deter any attempt at vandalism or any danger to the curious who might have attempted to enter the house. This was a great relief to many neighborhood residents.

The work for mapping out the utilities and the proposed road surface area has been progressing with many surveys and paint markings of the road junction area on Morrison Road and into the Lakeview Drive access points. The evidence of this work has quelled many of the residents' doubts and fears that we would be left without this access road which we feel is necessary due to flooding of Lake Drive and Breckenridge Road during storms.

During the meetings regarding the road changes that residents have attended we were told repeatedly by County Board Member Helen Hawkins, Joe Juneau and Mayor Ed Hagnauer, as well as other Madison County and Pontoon Beach officials that we would not be left alone or placed in possible danger by having our access points reduced or compromised. Residents were repeatedly assured our concerns would be listened to and addressed. Quite honestly, at the end of those meetings numerous residents here had the attitude of, "yeah, right," but with the progress ongoing as promised those doubts have been put to rest.

At a time when congressmen and senators in Washington are hard pressed to band together to put the interests of their citizens before the interests of corporate business, it is refreshing to see our county board members, mayor and government agency employees come together to back up what they have promised to the residents directly affected by the closing of Morrison Road in Granite City.

Sue Ann Archer and Terry A. Rollins

Granite City