To the Editor:

On behalf of myself and all of LOF I would like to thank our many supporters locally and beyond. In the late spring of this year, the Town of Newtown graciously offered LOF Adaptive Skiers a wonderful piece of property to hold our events and construct a building. This offer was conditional, requiring that we stop running events at 62 Housatonic Drive. Since we were looking for a new home, we took the town up on this wonderful offer and began operating there at the end of July. The public athletic field and public lake have exceeded our expectations for parking, and facilitating our activities, serving many people with disabilities.

Unfortunately during our daily operations we experienced acts of intimidation and threats toward skiers and volunteers while trying to enjoy the water like everyone else on a public lake accessed from a public park. FirstLight & Power, who issued a permit for the dock, and DEEP boating commission and the ENCON environmental police all felt this location was safe and achieves our objective.

What is our objective? To improve the lives of our participants by providing them with safe, challenging, and memorable adaptive recreation programs.

Unfortunately, the selectmen of Newtown recently indicated that this property does not have strong potential for future use. The park is available and underused. It was recommended and verified by town zoning and Parks and Recreation, and is accessible, with minor modifications, to meet ADA requirements. Why is utilizing this land in question? Simply, this was a reaction to neighbor's complaints. All of these complaints were proven to be exaggerations and fabrications.

It appears this is only an issue of "Not In My Backyard." This position now leaves a population of people who are already underserved and overlooked without a location to participate in this life-changing program. Let us not forget that while the neighbors have positioned themselves as victims of our operating nearby, the real victims here are the many adults and children with disabilities who will no longer be able to participate in our programs.

It's a shame that the selectmen of our town did not find the time to experience and see the impact of these wonderful events. As a side note, they would have witnessed the lack of impact on the neighbors. Sadly, most of the neighbors of Bridge End Farm Lane only appear to be self-serving and want LOF and their disabled skiers to go elsewhere. We have tried to work with the neighbors, including holding a special meeting, however nothing changed. Still, their response is "Not In My Backyard!"

At this time, I would like to ask the Newtown residents to help out and support our community of very special people with different abilities. I encourage you to write our selectmen to let them know that the town is very concerned about our disabled population.

Thank you so much for your support. Please stay tuned for updates.

Joel Zeisler, Director and Founder of LOF

90 Housatonic Drive, Sandy Hook         September 14, 2017