Letter to the Editor: Financial gain and business success at expense of others is wrong

Regarding the Drake plan to mine the east side of Bill Williams Mountain, Drake’s actions are not just bad, their actions are an immorality to the people of Williams and the people of Arizona. Why an immorality? Because Drake’s purpose in their proposal is their own financial gain and business success at the horrible, irreversible expense of others and at the expense of the permanent destruction of a deeply cherished natural environment. Drake is a mining business. Drake is not a developer that improves land or improves the lives and land of the areas they mine. Quite the opposite . Drake permanently destroys and scars the land and the areas they mine. That’s what mining does. That is why mining should only be done in remote wilderness areas. But the land Drake is preparing to destroy to pad their own profits and their own business interests is not simply a remote wilderness area but is instead a hugely popular recreation area of northern Arizona with immense historical natural beauty. It is an area enjoyed by tens of thousands each year because of its incredible beauty. The people of Drake clearly know this. Many of the Drake employees recreationally frequent this area themselves. Hey Drake . . . Integrity is putting morality above selfish gain, and if Drake mines and destroys this area, what is an immorality and lack of integrity if this is not?

~Dave Kinnaman

Phoenix, Arizona