Another chapter ends

On my way home from dinner last night (May 1) I noticed a "for sale" sign on a vacant lot at Baltimore Pike and Waywood Lane, just east of town. If you lived around here back in 2000, you will doubtless recall that this parcel was the cause of a firestorm of controversy. The board of the Bayard Taylor Memorial Library purchased the lot for $500,000 with the hopes of building a new library there. However, the opposition to this idea was swift and fierce: many people didn't want the library to leave the center of town.
It was a huge and bitter battle. Invective-filled letters to the editor filled this paper (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if even this diplomatic recap sparks at least one). A "Friends of the Library" group sprung up to oppose the move. Sadly, some long friendships broke up over the vitriolic dispute.
I found myself in the middle of the whole to-do and, with hindsight, I can say that I learned a great many things -- most of them useful but few of them pretty -- about politics, human nature (including my own), and being on the "other side" of journalism.
Obviously, since the Library is still located "in town,"the fundraising campaign for the proposed Waywood library never succeeded. I'm told the Board voted unanimously to sell the property; the asking price is $995,000. One can only hope they see a nice profit for all the time and energy that was expended.