To The Editor :

Please allow me to respond to the letter from Michele Hamlin last week regarding the city disparity in appraisals.

I would like to say first of all that Rev. Edward Norman property is just one of many in the county where the tax-appraised values are out of line with the fair market values. I sympathize with Rev. Norman and feel his case is indeed unfair. However, I also feel we the citizens and property owners must take on a certain amount of responsibility and not assume our officials are doing everything correctly. We would like to trust they are, but this is not always the case.

I agree with Ms. Hamlin this could happen to anyone. This is another reason we need to educate ourselves on appraisal procedures and taxpayers rights. There are Washington- Wilkes citizens paying attention. One group is The Concerned Citizens of Wilkes County who meet monthly and run newspaper ads inviting anyone to attend meetings where we educate ourselves on protecting our taxpayer rights, and how we can work more effectively with our county officials. We are committed to helping ourselves first, and then assist others.

I believe our current Chief Appraiser along with the limited staff she is allowed is working diligently to fix the many problems she inherited. I have been actively involved for the past four years and is now beginning to see progress in the appraisal process which I am hopeful will be fair and offer equity for all.

Sara Wilis vice president, CCOWC