Don’t follow rainbow

Dear Editor,

I would not recommend visiting the Rainbow Gathering this year on Queen Creek. It appears the U.S. Forest Service is following the ICE example and making a heavy Law Enforcement presence. They have posted no parking along Forest Road 119 and taped off most of the suitable parking areas near the gathering. This is from the Hearts Content Road clear to the Economite Road near Route 337.

There is a small sign on the Hearts Content end that says one way but I don’t know if that is official. I have heard they have or are going to bring at least 12 additional Law Enforcement personnel from other Forests for this event and pay overtime, travel, and lodging expenses at a time when the Forest Service Budget is supposed to be cut.

If you do decide to visit the gathering be prepared to walk a long way and do as most of the Rainbows do and carry out any trash you see.

Greg Burkett,

Warren

Community shows up

Dear Editor,

Thursday evening, I had the privilege of attending the Warren Philharmonic concert. The music was beautiful. The musicians shared their gifts with remarkable talent, and the patriotic selections brought back memories of family, community celebrations, and moments that have shaped so many of our lives.

But as wonderful as the music was, I found myself looking around the room just as often as I looked toward the stage. I saw neighbors greeting one another before the concert began, families sitting side by side, familiar faces from every corner of our community, and people of all ages sharing the same experience. It reminded me that what we were witnessing wasn’t just a concert. It was community.

I worry sometimes that we are forgetting how important moments like these really are. It’s easy to spend our days behind screens, rushing from one obligation to the next, or convincing ourselves that we don’t have time to show up. But communities aren’t held together by roads, buildings, or even organizations alone. They are held together by people who make the effort to be present with one another.

Every concert, school play, church supper, youth sporting event, festival, or community gathering is another opportunity to strengthen the relationships that make a town feel like home. Those moments don’t always seem significant at the time, but over the years they become the fabric of a caring community.

As I left Thursday evening, I realized that what stayed with me wasn’t a particular piece of music, as memorable as it was.

What stayed with me was the image of a full room of people who had chosen to spend an evening together. In a world that often seems determined to separate us into smaller and smaller circles, that simple act of gathering gives me hope.

If we want a bright future for Warren, we have to keep creating and supporting places where people can come together — not because they have to, but because they want to. The music filled the room for an evening. The sense of community it created can stay with us much longer, if we choose to keep showing up for one another.

Doug Hearn,

Warren