The Independent-News, Volume 122, Number 24, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 24 October 1996 — Page 4

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— INDEPENDENT NEWS - OCTOBER 24, 1996

| VOICE OF THE PEOPLE |

I want to comment on the Public Notice in the October 14, 1996 Walkerton Shopper. Telling all of us how much money the town of North Liberty would receive if The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and Harrah’s Casino were allowed to locate in the North Liberty area. 1 did find it amusing that the small group pushing for a casino already had $3,000,000 spent that does not exist and that they know how much the improvements to expand our water and waste water plants would cost to support such a business and still lower every household water bill by 50%. Here are some of the issues I am concerned about and why I voted NO on Casino Gambling. ECONOMICS-The effect on the local economy and tax base. Money spent on gambling, that is money that would otherwise go to area stores, groceries, and other business means less revenue to the state. The result is higher taxes. I have read studies from Minnesota, South Dakota, and Illinois on the impact Casino gambling has had in those areas. Small business in the area of the casino are getting killed, most end up. , moving or have to close. The restuarant business is hit the hardest, food and

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drinks are just about a write off for casinos, anything to keep you in their building and spending your money. Our local restaurants and taverns would never survive. SOCIAL-This industry feeds on people who do not have the money to gamble. It teaches our young people get rich quick sending the wrong signal about the values of hard work and savings. INFRASTRUCTUREMore capital improvement money would be needed. Our local roads and streets will need more repair due to the increase in traffic. The utilities would have to be upgraded to support the increased load. We would have to increase the Police Department to keep up the new flow of crime that always follows casinos. I am also concerned about the increased traffic flow around our schools and children. QUALITY OF LIFEWhy do most people live in North Liberty? Because of its sense of community, good schools. Without many of the problems that come with living in a bigger city or town, it is a great place to live and raise a family, because it is safe. . MORAL-I am a Christian and a member of the North Liberty United Methodist Church. After reading all

these commission studies and seeing the impact that gambling is having on this country, all over the country, makes me sick! The spread of legalized gambling in the United States is killing the country. The Government has made a huge mistake, it is going to cost the taxpayers more money in the long run. Trying to raise money for taxes with legalized gambling is costing more because of increased crime. An insurance company study suggests that 40 percent of white collar crime can be traced to gambling. There are increases in violence in the home to spouses and children. The greatest growth of addiction to gambling is with teenagers. This is a small part of the report Senator Paul Simon gave to the 104th Congress on July 31, 1995. U.S. House Committee on Small Business: Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Bloomberg, of Lawrence County, SD, testified before a U.S. House Committee on his experiences dealing with Deadwood, SD, a small community that became the first place outside of Atlantic City and Nevada to legalize gambling. He said they were promised economic development, new jobs and lower taxes. Instead, casinos flourished, but other businesses did not. Businesses that provide the necessities of life such as clothing are no longer available . . . and

customers of the town’s only remaining grocery store walk a gauntlet of slot-machines as they exit with their purchases. As the claim that gambling brings tax relief, this is simply has not proven true. Real property taxes for residential and commercial properties have risen each and every year since gambling was legalized. Crimes of theft, embezzlement, bad checks and other forms of larceny have increased. Our office has also seen an increase in the number of child abuse and neglect cases as a result of gambling. These run the spectrum from children left in their cars all night while their parents gamble, to children left at home alone while parents gamble, to the children left at home alone while single mothers work the casino late shift, to the households without utilities or groceries because one or both parents have blown their paychecks gambling. Do not listen to the song and dance that the Pro Casino people are giving. Legalized gambling is not good for the United States and is definitely not for North Liberty! We have the support of our Congressman Tim Roemer and his office. A casino in North Liberty will not happen!! Help keep North Liberty a great place to live! Say NO CASINO!! Richard Warner North Liberty Town Council President To whom it may concern I have ben wanting to write this letter for a long time. I am a waitress in Walkerton. 1 have lived here since 1974. For the most part people in this town are pretty decent folks. I’m a single mom who is working two jobs and trying to make ends meet. As a waitress I only make $2.50 an hour. Now I don’t know if folks think that waitresses make alot of money and that is why some people don’t tip, but my livelihood is from my tips. I can’t tell you how many times that I have waited on someone and given them darn good service and then they not leave a tip. I just don’t understand this. How can you justify going out to eat and spending alot of money and getting good service and then not leave the waitress a tip. I understand there are waitresses out there that do not give you good service. There is alot of you out there that can understand why I get so frustrated. On the other side of the coin if you go to a restaurant and get lousy service, of course I wouldn’t expect you to leave a tip. Well I have spoken my

piece and I hope that some of you fine folks will think when you go to a restaurant to leave the waitress a tip, she deserves it. Mary Greenwood NORTH LIBERTY Yes! You are right, Mr. Shortt doesn’t live in North Liberty. He is also very concerned about our economy. Somebody has to be. More power to you Mr. Shortt. Now lets talk about shopping in North Liberty. I know a lot of you shop in South Bend. We spend about $130.00 a week at a South Bend food store. If we bought those items in North Liberty it would cost about SIO.OO more. That’s $40.00 a month or half of our water bill. It would be nice to see more variety in our town. Yes, I understand we need more sales to lower the price of shopping, but maybe two or three thousand more residents will help do that. Common sense should tell us that more jobs and/or residents will help business. More sales/lower prices. Since we are crime free, healthy, and our kids don’t play with matches; I won’t mention the benefits to our police, ambulance, and fire department. The Town Board says residents will gamble away their household budget. That’s very doubtful. They * also say people will not buy clothing in North Liberty. Well North Liberty has no clothing store, and many people buy supplies in South Bend. I feel that takes care of the shopping accusations. Lets say we are lucky enough to get a project like the Casino. Maybe we will grow to the size of Plymouth or LaPorte. Are you afraid to walk the streets in those towns? I don’t think so. Some of you say the Casino will bring in “low life.” Low life to me means going to church in one town and gambling in another. Some people worry about crime and traffic. Well, there are ways to deal with that. We need to look at towns like Mt. Pleasant and not Atlantic City. I would like to say to the Town Board — I respect your opinion and your belief. The fact is — your concern should be for the town of North Liberty. Don’t base your vote on religion. This is economics. The future of North Liberty is the issue. In regards to all the nasty articles that have appeared in the Independent News. Don’t you think its about time for all of us to act like adults and stop the negative feelings of both pros and (Continued on Page 7)