Editor,

Of course we have freedom of speech. Residents are free to speak as outrageously as they choose. It is a basic American right.  Basic morality, however, also requires citizens to be free from involuntary representation.

A minority group has deceptively chosen the title “Citizens of Ebey’s Reserve” to give the impression that they represent all of us.

I have been living in the middle of Ebey’s Prairie (the heart and essence of the reserve) since long before any of the “COER” protestors came here.

They do not represent me, and they do not represent my opinion as a resident citizen of the prairie and as a career environmental and occupational health professional.

The vast majority of the residents of the prairie and surrounding reserve that I have talked to also disagree with them.  A better title of the group would be “AMP,” an appropriate acronym for “Atwood, Monson, Pickard” (the primary noisemakers).

The reserve is a National Historical Reserve. History shows that the Outlying Field was constructed and utilized by the United States Navy before I was born here and before any of the members of the group (who falsely claim to represent the reserve) were conceived.

The runway is not only functional, it is historical.

Vin Sherman

Ebey’s Prairie