We accept letters to the editor. Letters to the editor are opinions of the authors of the letter, not Decaturish.com. Everyone has an equal opportunity to submit a letter to the editor. So if you read something here and don’t like it, don’t jump on our case. Write a letter of your own. All letters must be signed and are typically between 500 to 800 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for length and content. We also reserve the right to publish longer letters if we need to. To send your letter to the editor, email it to [email protected].

Dear Decaturish,

When Marjorie and I moved to Clairmont Oaks five years ago, we were pleased to be so near downtown Decatur. For we remembered it as the well-balanced retail business district, it was ‘back in the day’.

It only took a couple of walks down to and along Ponce to discover the retail wasteland downtown Decatur had become, offering little except banks and high-priced dining and imbibing. And the situation only grows worse.

Now Kroger, the grocery lifeline for downtown Decaturites without cars, is closing. Where will residents of Phillips Tower, Oliver House, Clairmont Oaks and Beacon Hill, for example, find affordable nearby sources of quality food?

Decatur’s leadership says they desire a city with a balance of income strata. If they are serious, now is the time to activate a plan to again give Decatur a balanced retail sector. (Could CVS or McDonald’s be next?)

— Delmar R. (Del) Yoder

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