Dear Editor:

In response to the recently published statement by the Board of Trustees of the Boothbay Region YMCA that it was “unfortunate … that the Boothbay Register turned a private, personnel matter into a front page story” it should be noted that the YMCA website itself invites one to “Please check out BoothbayRegister.com for Boothbay Region YMCA in the news.”

I don’t think it can be both ways. I am sure the Y wants to be in the news when it is looking to publicize events and especially for fundraising awareness. But then the Y doesn’t want a reporter to write the news about the reorganization at the Y resulting in the elimination of the Wellness Director position and the consequential loss of an employee. It is the job of a newspaper to report all of these things.

The elimination of the Wellness Director position and resulting personnel change is having an impact on the community whether one agrees with the decision or not. That is news.

The personnel matter may have to be private but the story is still news. Just what do you suppose the Y board considers newsworthy?

Louise Cowan
Boothbay