To the Editor:

I'd like to respond to Mr. Stull and Mr. Ellis's recent letters to KWTD. I'm not sure I have a quarrel with either of them.

I meant no criticism of our Planning & Zoning Commission. They are committed to protecting our resources, and they do a fine job enforcing our regulations. But if you think that development is not a serious issue for Killingworth, I invite you to come take a walk with me down, say, Beckwith Road. Since I moved to town in 1996, at least twelve building lots have been added off this 1/3 mile dirt road. Is this what we want? We have to use means beyond our current regulations to protect the very qualities that drew us here. The Board of Selectmen should take the lead in seeking out such measures as land acquisition by the town to collaboration with other agencies, organizations, and individuals.

And I certainly didn't mean to dismiss the frightening traffic safety issues we've all encountered. On the contrary, I believe that our efforts can't stop with remedying each crisis point. I once had a boss, a dean at Yale. She ran an extremely organized and efficient office, but she used to say she didn't want to be remembered for getting the mail out on time; she wanted to make some real improvements in the quality of the institution. We cannot wait until all the immediate issues are resolved before we address the big picture.

Killingworth is incredibly fortunate to have citizens who are willing to put in the large amounts of time and effort required to serve on the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Traffic Study Committee, who take the time to attend meetings of the Board of Selectman and to write to Killingworth Today (and, I have to say, to run Killingworth Today: a big, big thank you to Peg Scofield). It is no disrespect to their efforts to say that we should see them within a broader vista.

Catherine Iino