Our Collinsville mayor, councilmen and city manager along with the Collinsville Area Recreation District president, board members and executive director have spent too much time since September belaboring who should pay what for the Miner's Theatre.

Theatre was the spelling used on a 1918 door exhibited in our historical museum, saying, "Opening postponed account influenza epidemic."

Mayor John Miller and Councilwoman Nancy Moss were two of the five votes needed to give the library the parking lot owned by the city, having a value of $25,000 to $50,000, when the museum was built. The water and sewer fund took a sizable hit to take lines to the museum. However, the museum is the ideal place for those of us who want our mine-working ascendants to be remembered.

So why should we want the Miner's building avoiding demolition?

Another reason is our Unit 10 school taxpayers have already paid for a usable theater for the Miner's Institute Foundation quarterly productions.

Professing it is good for the uptown economy is wrongheaded. The building that once housed the News-Democrat across the street is still vacant. A dismantled Miner's could provide needed parking.

Bob DesPain

Collinsville