To the editor,

I want to thank you for printing one of the concerns Kids First has with the proposed casinos at the Jefferson Barracks Bridge.

The entrance to Beasley Elementary School, where our children attend and where the Mehlville School District intends to build a new early childhood center, is little more than 1,000 feet from the proposed gambling casino.

Every vehicle carrying children to and from school will have to contend with vehicles using the gambling property.

It is unfortunate that Dr. Tim Ricker, Mehlville superintendent, does not see this as a problem of safety for our children. As a parent, I worry about drivers who have been drinking on a gambling boat trying to outrun my children’s school bus across the intersection.

I also worry about problem gamblers who are desperate for money looking at our secluded school, and the teachers and children in it, as a target for theft.

I also worry that people who get lost may come onto our school’s property and hit a child who is out at recess or physical education.

As a taxpayer and homeowner, I question the reasoning of all those who expect money from a new casino to help our school district and our economy.

Surely, the property values of our homes, which share the neighborhood of the J.B. Bridge, will go down, which means county, state and school district revenue will decrease as well.

In addition, as a “hold-harmless” school district, Mehlville will not receive any increase in money from the state.

So many of us will lose if a casino is built at the J.B. Bridge: my children, my school, my quiet neighborhood, my school district.

The only one who wins is the one who owns the boat.

Jane E. Lackner

Oakville

member, Kids First