Letter to the Editor

City Park Golf Course Demise Exaggerated

To the Editor:

I was embarrassed to read the sensational and grossly inaccurate headline and commentary published on the front page of the April issue of the Greater Park Hill News. To paraphrase Mark Twain, the demise of the City Park Golf Course has been greatly exaggerated.

This newspaper has a long-standing history of providing accurate and in-depth reporting on issues that are critical to our community. Your readers expect an accounting of the truth and not wild conjecture. Commentary like this belongs inside the paper where it won’t be mistaken as factual.

The second paragraph of the commentary states:

“So why are we just now finding out that ‘maybe’ – because of CDOT and Denver’s long announced plans to put part of I-70 below ground as it runs east to west across the northern part of Denver – that the City Park Golf Club must be demolished? Specifically, many of the golf course trees will be cut down, and a whole bunch of acres of the golf course will be turned into a huge unattractive hole in the ground.”

None of the forgoing is true. The City Park Golf Club is not being scheduled for demolition, the net number of trees on the golf course will increase as a part of the plan and the parking lot and recently erected clubhouse are the only portions of the course that will be converted to use for storm drainage. The opinion piece continues from there to speculate as to how this project might be tied to other city projects but provides no sources or facts for the conspiracy theories.

In contrast, the font page of the April issue also featured an article by GPHC Education Chair, Lynn Kalinauskas. Ms. Kalinauskas certainly writes from a particular point of view and isn’t shy about taking a position. However, she is consistently thorough in citing verifiable facts and sources for her points of view.

This is the quality of reportage that your readers deserve. Commentary has value and also its place. This paper should fact check and edit content that appears on its front page and include commentary and editorial submissions from neighbors in the inner sections.

Ryan T. Hunter, Park Hill

Editor’s Note: Ryan T. Hunter is a member of the GPHC Board of Governors. The opinions expressed here are his own.