To the Editor:

In the article “Downtown leaders from around the state visit Franklin” (July 25), Franklin Mayor Jim Councill said that “big things are on the horizon” for the City of Franklin, and that the closure of International Paper was “just a hiccup — a big one.”

I’m sure that those who lost their jobs had to find other jobs; some had to move to other locations; homes had to be sold or were foreclosed on. I would not consider that “just a hiccup — a big one.”

That phrase was belittling, arrogant and thoughtless.

I’m sure that if those IP people who lost their jobs gathered with Councill, he would have the appropriate words and finesse his way out of that remark, but how much respect would they have for him? Possibly they didn’t have any respect for him in the first place.

Lack of respect and empathy for those who fall on hard times is definitely a flaw of character.

Mary K. Nichols

Franklin