I, for one, think the IHOP restaurant in Carson City should be demolished, if for no other reason than out of respect for those who perished. I really don't think customers will enjoy eating while sitting in the very room where others were gunned down.
It's now hallowed ground, and not a tourist attraction, so to leave the restaurant open would be morbid.
We'll probably never know why the gentleman in question committed such a dastardly act against his fellow man. It really doesn't make any difference right now, and it's over and done with. What does matter is the memory of those people who died and their family members who might chance by the restaurant. They don't need to be reminded anymore.
I believe I speak for everyone in Carson City when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with each and every one of you for the loss you've suffered.
I only hope and pray the owners of this IHOP share the same feelings about demolishing the building as I and a lot of people do. The owners can open another restaurant, but not this one.
For the sake of those no longer with us and their families, please keep the doors shut and tear the building down and let the memory of that terrible day just fade away.
Donald Paetz
Carson City
What a trashy little burgh Carson City has become. What happened to the American standard of living? People kept their homes and businesses up out of respect for themselves and their neighbors. The squalor people are content to live in these days is appalling. Fence lines, driveways, curbs, parking lots and roadsides are choked with weeds and trash. Lawns, shrubs and trees are half dead, and people actually mound up their household garbage bags in side yards for the occasional run to the dump.
Private business owners make no attempt to keep their storefronts bright, clean and inviting. Corporate business owners allow the trash generated by their stores to accumulate on their own property, as well as all adjacent property and roadsides. Real estate investors allow their neighborhood rentals to remain rundown eyesores to homeowners who count on their own property to keep its value.
How would the community combat this decline? Can you walk up to someone's door and offer to clean up their yard? Do you clean up one vacant lot, only to have it look the same in three weeks? Can you even contact a corporate or private business owner or real estate investor? Is the city willing to put some ordinances in place?
I remember a former editor of a local newspaper, after he participated in a community cleanup, stating simply, "People are pigs."
Kim Burchfield
Carson City
