I am writing to express our thanks to you, for which I add my personal appreciation for the photograph of my wife and myself, for the two articles addressing the issues of the Muttontown Horsemen's endeavors to maintain the trails and safe passage of horses and riders in our village as well as our rural environment, or what remains of it.

I do not need to tell you that our ongoing efforts to achieve "diplomatic" negotiations with the board of trustees as well as the planning board have not been too successful to date since it would appear that the mandate that was given to the planning board, some 10 years ago by the board of trustees, requiring the preservation of easements, has been either disregarded or "swept under the table." However, we have given them the benefit of the doubt that this has been overlooked.

I have written to the chairman of the planning board this past 10 days requesting the board's interpretation of Public Law 2 which would appear to differ with our own reading of this document. In any event we intend to pursue this matter with what we hope will be an acceptable resolution for all concerned.

Once again, with many thanks for two fine articles and for shedding some much needed light on this subject.

Clifford P. Phillips

Treasurer

Muttontown Horsemen's Association, Inc.