Letter: Phone towers mar scenery

Friday, Dec. 7, 2001 | 10:04 a.m.

I note with alarm a proposal before the Clark County Commission to override a decision by the planning commission, which turned down a permit to build a cell phone tower in Calico Basin near the Red Rock Conservation Area.

I regularly hike, run and climb in that area of Red Rock, and I cannot imagine the thought of a company constructing a 150-foot cell tower in the area.

The only argument I have heard for why such a tower is necessary is that cell phones could aid in the event of an injury to a hiker or climber. If that is the rationale, we can soon expect to see cell towers spread across all of our wild and scenic areas.

I suspect that the real moving force behind the cell tower is company profits, and the ability to make "convenience" calls while driving the scenic loop.

It is time to put a stop to these continuing efforts that mar the scenic values of areas such as Red Rock in the name of convenience or profit.

BART PATTERSON

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