To the editor:

First of all, I should make it plain that I am not the owner of The Third Planet; I am the manager and I did not mention which store I worked at in my letter because I was expressing my personal opinion as opposed to an official store opinion. In fact, in the follow-up article printed by the Journal-World, I asked to only have The Third Planet identified if there were several other stores voicing an opinion as well. But only The Third Planet and Fun & Games were mentioned.

Anyway, I did not write to say that the early-release program was a problem, in and of itself, but that parents who do not take responsibility for their children’s behavior in public are frustrating to me while I am at work. I am delighted that Melissa Padgett (Public Forum, March 10), mother of four, uses those afternoons productively with her children and I applaud her for that. Now, if her fellow parents would follow suit, all would be well. But the bottom line is that large groups of unsupervised children are just loitering around downtown on Wednesday afternoons. Usually the only adults in The Third Planet those afternoons are on the clock. And yes, it is a few who are spoiling it for the rest.

Again, I will say that I do not mind if the kids are genuinely shopping, or even just browsing, in small manageable and well-behaved groups … BUT this is a retail store, not a hangout, or a gathering place. Period.

Melissa R. Padgett,

Lawrence