FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Focus: Tamworth spokesperson:
Charles Greenhalgh
603 356-5439 x516
Cell: 603 321-6615
Home: 603 323-3908

If unavailable:
Kate Vachon, press coordinator
603 323 8224
focus@focustamworth.org

Mountain Ear publisher asks for retraction of statements in Focus: Tamworth press release

(TAMWORTH, NH, August 10) R. Stephen Eastman, publisher and editor of the Mt. Washington Valley Mountain Ear Inc, has requested that Focus: Tamworth retract “false statements and inaccurate information” in its press release of August 5. The August 5 press release says that the Mountain Ear declined to publish a letter from Alex Moot of Tamworth that questions the financial viability of Club Motorsports Inc and the prior experience of its developer.

Club Motorsports Inc (CMI) of Derry wants to build a private racetrack for fast cars and motorcycles on the north face of Mt Whittier in Tamworth. Construction has not yet started on the project.

The Focus: Tamworth release implied that the Mountain Ear’s decision not to print the letter was based on pressure from a CMI representative. Eastman says that is inaccurate, and maintains that his decision not to publish was based on his desire to “act professionally and with restraint.”

“We apologize for any inaccuracies in our press release and respect the right of any news outlet to publish or not publish anything according to its own judgment,” said Charles Greenhalgh, Focus: Tamworth spokesperson. “Stephen Eastman’s Mountain Ear is a valuable source of information and has been an active community forum for many years. The Mountain Ear printed a letter from Alex Moot last fall, but chose not to print this letter questioning the financial stability of Club Motorsports. Other papers made other choices. It was not our intention to criticize the Mountain Ear or its publisher. We wanted to show that CMI is attempting to apply the same pressure and threats of legal action to the local media that it has to Tamworth officials.”

Focus: Tamworth is a coalition of local residents who support careful and fair regulations that protect Tamworth’s economic and natural resources. More information on Focus: Tamworth is available at www.focustamworth.org.

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Note to editors: the text of Alex Moot’s letter and the CMI response is available at http://www.focustamworth.org/conway_daily_sun_8_4_04.htm.