The following is an open letter to the Marion Planning Board sent to Sippican Week.

To the Marion Planning Board:

As a child that has lived in Marion for 10 out of my 10 years, I know better than anyone how special and astonishing our town really is. CVS is a nationwide, household name, big box store. You know that Marion is not a fit for this. So please don’t let this box in our beautiful, unique town.

I believe CVS should not be allowed at the gateway to Marion because there is already too much traffic, their presence will lead to small businesses going bankrupt and it sets a bad example for American taxpayers. Most residents and visitors do no want it, and because it destroys the beauty of the Captain Hadley House, let’s solve this issue as a community.

Do want to be backed up trying to get in to the village of Marion? Well, I don’t want to be. There is already too much traffic at the intersection of the Captain Hadley House and Cumberland Farms. Sadly, this corner has the record for the most car crashes in town. CVS is estimating that 500 cars will go in and out of their parking lot daily. Can you guess what this number of cars will make happen? Let’s see, there’s going to be even more accidents.

Another reason why I believe CVS should not be in Marion is because their presence will lead to small businesses going out of business. Our town is filled with many local businesses that help us daily. The business that will be affected the most is the Marion General Store. This store sells all of your essentials, toiletries, meat, vegetables, cooking and baking ingredients, snacks, candy, pet needs, medicine and much more.

The General Store already competes against the Cumberland Farms local franchise. If you open another big box store in our town, what you’re basically saying is that you don’t care if one of the most important things in our community is destroyed. This is the center of our town, the younger generation’s meeting spot. Don’t let it crash and burn.

CVS is planning to move their corporation offshore in order to avoid paying U.S. income tax. So this kind of company can sell candy, trinkets and Gatorade (in addition to prescription drugs) at huge profit levels that justify enormous land leases. Can you believe that we would let a company that is trying to avoid the U.S. laws in our town? It sets a bad example for the youngsters.

The Captain Hadley House is a very important part of Marion’s history. It might just seem like an office building that’s taking up space, but it’s not. As Margie Baldwin stated at a meeting last October, “We used to have four historic buildings at each corner of our town. But now, sadly, we only have one left, the Captain Hadley House.” Seeing this building every time you come into our town, you are reminded of the beautiful history of Marion.

Finally, the CVS company should not be in our unique village because many people have already said “no” to having this pharmacy come to our town. A petition done by Tinker and Bill Saltonstall shows that 2,191 residents and visitors to Marion voted no towards CVS.

I personally did a poll through my fifth grade class at Sippican Elementary and the majority of the children stated clearly that they don’t want a big box in the town they are growing up in. Isn’t your job to do the right thing for the whole entire community? Listen to the children – we are the people that will be here in the long run.

To save this town from turning into a city we need to stop CVS. This box store should not be allowed at the gateway to Marion or anywhere in Marion. As a 10-year-old, I have learned to respect the process of the Planning Board as I watched you deal with Mark Investments at both meetings. There is already too much traffic. I’m not lying: traffic records prove it. Local businesses will go bankrupt. Many residents and visitors to our little community say “no” to CVS.

Petitions through all age groups speak loud and clear. This destroys the beauty of the Captain Hadley House. As I said in the beginning, I am a child that has lived here for a decade – my whole entire life. I’ve ridden my bike to Jack Cheney’s General Store. I’ve been driven by the Captain Hadley House. I’ve enjoyed getting greeted by the man who owns the General Store everyday and I know that the owner of the whole entire CVS company does not stand outside and greet us when we come in.

I’ve personally loved going past the Captain Hadley House, but never really enjoyed going into the CVS in Fairhaven or Wareham. I don’t want anymore car crashes. So let’s make a stop to this riot and keep intact the beauty of our town.

Thank you,

Tasha Sudofsky,

Marion, age 10