Letter to the Editor of the Eureka/Arcata Times-Standard:
I was shocked and saddened to read of the blaze that took down the buildings of the Northcoast Environmental Center, Arcata Paint and Marino's. I will miss the NEC's stretch of muraled blue that so often caught my eye to remind me of what matters. It is a place where I had spent too little time, always expecting to go back for more...
A library is a difficult thing to replace. It is not like a stereo or a car -- because into every library is built hundreds of hours of searching and selecting, of reading and reviewing materials. In order for a library to begin again, it must be driven by the love and commitment that put it there in the first place, and a willingness to raise once more what can be so painfully lost.
The folks at the NEC are determined to lift the phoenix from the flames. Their hearts are willing and ready. And a fund has been established at the Humboldt Area Foundation to assist in rebuilding the Center.
I've been wondering what to do with the small check that we received this week "To Support America's Workers." We've had lots of suggestions for ways to let that refund money express our thoughts on the anti-environmental actions of the current White House. When I read of the fire at the NEC, my deliberations ended.
Because someday, I want to sit in that library and read, and read, and read. And in the meantime, my hopes will be higher, knowing that the NEC community is out there, struggling to maintain and restore those rivers and skies of blue.
Maia Cheli-Colando
Note: To make a contribution on behalf of the Center's restoration, contact the Humboldt Area Foundation at Post Office Box 99; Bayside, CA 95524. ph (707) 442-2993 (If you want to send a check to support the NEC, you can write and mail your check to The Humboldt Area Foundation at the above address. Make sure to put "NEC Fund" in the memo line!)
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