Dear Mr. Karge,

Thank you for offering your e-mail address for public comment. I^'ve been following newspaper articles regarding the big box issue. I’ve been tempted to write a letter to the editor but it didn’t think it would be of any help. I did visit the website listed in the paper but found no questions.

Perhaps the site will be updated with the questions. I will keep checking. I'll just give you my opinions...

I am a 31 year mother of a 7 mo. old. I moved to Easton in May of 1996 from the King of Prussia area outside of Philadelphia. In no way would I want Easton to become the hustle-bustle of city suburbs.

I am a director at the YMCA in Easton. We are about to begin a big marketing campaign. All research materials tell us to market women 25-44 years, because that's whose spending the money. I can tell you that there is not one person that I know that does their shopping in Easton. The vast majority goes to Annapolis, a lot to Rehoboth and a few to Salisbury. I can attest that every weekend for the first 4-6 months of living here, I shopped in Annapolis. Minimally, I shop there twice a month. There is such a void of shopping here.

I have read that people are concerned that the downtown shops would be in jeopardy if large stores come in. I have a decent job but by no means can I afford to shop downtown. My parents, who are outside of the target market mentioned earlier, can afford downtown. I honestly don't think large stores will take away from the boutiques; their target market is established.

I think it makes sense to offer shopping that would keep Talbot County shoppers spending money in Talbot County. Lord knows good stores are bound to attract people from ALL of the surrounding counties as well. (They don't even have Wal-Marts!) The additional stores would also provide more jobs for the people of Easton.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to reading more on the issue.

Sincerely,

Rae Jennings