I am a longtime employee of Three Rivers Community College and a graduate. I am also a resident of Norwich, in the heavily taxed CCD.

Has anybody commented on the fact that the Hollihock Island site for part of the campus once was a dump?

While I don't challenge Ron Aliano's statement Norwich can handle 1,000 cars a day, I believe that number is low by a factor of three. Look up the enrollment at Three Rivers, then add staff and faculty. Can Norwich handle 3,000 more cars a day?

Let's look at how people are supposed to move about. Is there handicapped access to every site? Is there secure parking and foot travel between each site and wherever these parking spaces may lie?

All the stories I have read about the downtown relocation mention the good the college can bring to downtown. Precious few have mentioned anything good downtown will do for the college. Three Rivers exists to provide cost-efficient, quality education, not as a municipal welfare program. If the college is moved downtown, costs will rise, making our programs less affordable, our enrollment plummet, and our effectiveness diminish. This can devastate the college and the city.

No wonder Dr. Devaughn adamantly opposes the downtown location. Rep. Jack Malone is mistaken in trying to spearhead something any person of reasonable intelligence would see is bad for the college.

Deals work only when they are win-win. At best the relocation of Three Rivers to the downtown area would be win-lose -- the city wins, the college loses.

STEVE PUDLO

Norwich