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' Again, thank you. No matter the outcome, the process has b.en beneficial. <br /> What's been most enlightening for me is that how this debate has brought into the open other people's stories <br /> with their own struggle with these diseases. As hurtful as so i e of the comments from the extreme opposition <br /> have been,people I've known for 20 years have opened their souls and told me very personal stories about their <br /> daughters, sisters, wives and others who suffered and surviv-•. This debate has shown us that it is not a <br /> shameful condition. It's shown me that there is tremendous i;:norance in our community about what eating <br /> disorders are; who is affected and what it takes to survive. I' e spent hours talking to neighbors about the <br /> disease and what it really is and isn't. <br /> Eating disorders tend to afflict the ambitious,the driven stud;nts and athletes who struggle with control and <br /> self-esteem. Orono has a population of people who expect s ccess in all they do. Our students and athletes are <br /> talented and strive for more. It's these kids that are more likes y to suffer from an eating disorder. <br /> So, no matter the outcome (and my own personal opinion is t at the council will deny the IUP),this debate has <br /> done good. Not as much as good as the actual facility would' but good nonetheless. I'm sure that if Dr. Miller <br /> loses, he will not stop. He will find another facility in anoth town. Yet the young in our community will <br /> continue to suffer. I know some of you are trying to isolate t e issue as strictly a'land use' issue. I understand <br /> that argument and I too do not want sex-offenders and other ore serious facilities in our midst. But,just like <br /> as the Dakota Trail (which I live on)brought a great debate, Where there is a will, there is a way. <br /> The Dakota Trail has forever changed my property. When I moved into our current home in 2000,there was <br /> still the occasional sideline train that idled by. We would wave to the conductors. When the opportunity came <br /> to convert it into a trail,there was tremendous opposition, but the council and other cities all felt that the <br /> greater good was served by opening this trail. As we all know, the trail has exceeded all projections for use. <br /> People from around the state are using it. I love the trail. B0t I no longer have the silence we used to enjoy. I <br /> have to pick up garbage. My kids now practice what to do when dogs off leash come storming through the <br /> yard. We talk about what to do when a stranger approaches. 1000's of people a day on weekends come past <br /> my home. But I embrace the trail as a sign of progress. <br /> So again, I ask you to consider the greater good. These young women are dying everyday. One mother who <br /> had a student in Orono wrote me and told me that she would have liked to have had a residential facility closer <br /> to home for her own daughter's recovery. Please try to find ajway to make this work. <br /> Thank you again for the efforts and thoughtful consideration I know each of you are giving this project. No <br /> matter the outcome, I appreciate your efforts as we all work to make Orono the best place in the world. <br /> Steve Byrnes <br /> 952.212.4554 <br /> 1025 Heritage Lane <br /> Orono, MN 55391 <br /> 2 <br />