In response to the editorial "Hoping for the best but," it's worth noting that the clean-up of Falls Lake is not about Raleigh's drinking water, it is about pollution in our own back yard.
The clean-up is being required because a great resource for the region -- Falls Lake and its tributary streams and rivers -- is significantly polluted.
This pollution includes bacteria that can affect human health and can be caught from swimming in the lake or splashing through a creek.
Unfortunately, the hot spot for pollution is our own hidden gem: Ellerbe Creek which runs through out Durham with water flowing to it as far west as Bennett Place on the Orange County line, from most of downtown, and tributaries running throughout east Durham all the way to the lake.
This clean-up is an opportunity for Durham to restore Ellerbe Creek and make it a great resource for our community.
There are already greenways, parks and nature preserves along the creek, but the creek must be more than an open stormwater drain for it to be a real resource. We must accept responsibility for the damage that we are causing to this resource and work to reverse that trend.
If the city spends its time trying to solve the problem rather than trying to get us out of our responsibility, I am sure a cost-effective, common-sense plan to restore Ellerbe Creek and Falls Lake will quickly follow.
PETER RAABE
Durham
Where is the CIAA?
Each day last week from Tuesday through Sunday, we scoured your sports section looking for some coverage of the CIAA Tournament which was in Charlotte. While our school (NCCU) is no longer a part of the CIAA Conference, we remain fans of the CIAA and its affiliate schools.
Shaw University and St. Augustine's University (the eventual men's champions) are right next door in Raleigh and Fayetteville State University (the eventual women's champions) is right "down the road." The CIAA has eight other schools scattered about in North Carolina and Virginia. We're sure the alumni of these member schools must comprise thousands of your readership who were also interested in the CIAA Tournament games, scores, events, etc. In the future, we ask that you please give some "ink" to the CIAA. By the way, the MEAC Tournament begins Tuesday in Winston-Salem; we're sure you already have the ACC Tournament on your calendar.
We did see the one small article on Coach Harvey Hartley's induction into the Hall of Fame. Thank you!
SUE AND MACK JARMON
Durham
