As an original member of the adjunct faculty at Mohegan Community College, I remember the efforts of many local enthusiasts to bring a two-year college to Norwich. Faculty was scattered in the early days; at one time, I was teaching classes in the former Laurel Hill School. I was on the second floor, and the late Lou Heller's Firettes were practicing on the first floor. I also taught at the campus on Mahan Drive after the state bought it.

Norwich has one of the finest education systems in the state. Mohegan and Thames Valley have been a part of that system for several generations. Students and faculty historically have come here from all over eastern Connecticut, and Norwich residents have accessed the facilities for many programs, including Adventures in Lifetime Learning for seniors.

It would be a travesty to remove a Norwich institution, Three Rivers, and sandwich it between casinos in what may become an industrial park. Some students and faculty might dream of bucolic fields, but what they would get is noise and traffic. I did better with the Firettes.

The proposal for building a new Three Rivers in downtown Norwich has great merit. The proposal to enlarge one of the existing facilities is an excellent possibility. What should not and cannot happen is for Three Rivers to be removed from its founding community. Norwich is united on that.

HAROLD A. SOLOFF

Norwich