This is in response to Leo Turner’s letter (April 14) regarding the proposed Oxford County resort casino.
As a lifelong resident of Mexico, I found his letter inaccurate. Almost 300,000 people annually visit the Sunday River Ski Resort. There has not been any increase in crime or noticeable traffic.
According to a 2005 Harvard Kennedy School of Business study, Turner’s assumptions are not true. Crime increased only slightly in areas with a casino because of population increases. The crime rate (the number of crimes per 1,000 residents) actually declined.
Houses in counties where a casino opened in the 1990s were only 2 percent more expensive than houses in similar non-casino counties.
Turner seems to be telling multi-generational families who were born and raised in this community that he wants Mexico to remain impoverished so he can take advantage of what others have built. Cheap labor and cheap real estate are not parts of a healthy economy.
Amy Bernard, Mexico
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