by J. Thomas, Stevensville
My family and I enjoyed last year’s Scarecrow Festival more than any other year’s celebration.We loved that all the entries were in the downtown area, thus encouraging us to explore shops we hadn’t visited recently. Also, it was much easier to chat with other festival goers without creating a traffic jam and causing people to move too close to the highway for safety in order to get to the next exhibit. To our minds, the downtown alternative was a great idea.
Moreover, while visiting with others we learned of the intended project of placing lighting along the north entry into town. This disappointed us. Keeping our valley natural and pristine is something we believe in. Lighting would not only cause loss of dark sky space for stargazing, it also upsets the natural rhythm of animals and insect life. Joggers and walkers have headlamps available to them which would enable them to light their way, seeing their surroundings without the need of big street lamps. (Perhaps money already raised for this lighting project could be donated to the community library?)
It would be sad to see Stevensville illuminate the outlying areas the way large cities do, spreading light pollution and disturbing nature. Let’s keep Stevensvile a haven for both man and beast.