Having been a resident here for five years, I frequently read my hometown newspaper from a town I grew up in outside Santa Barbara, Calif. Today, drive-by shootings, drug busts, car break-ins and petty crime are rampant in my once small town of Lompoc.

It’s heartbreaking to think that my boyhood town I once felt safe in transformed and changed so dramatically. The hills, ocean, flowers and wonderful weather are still there, but the bad element that has taken over sometimes takes precedence over the beauty and attractions.

I feel fortunate to reside in the lovely town of Fountain Hills. I get to go back in time and relive that small-town experience in retirement that no longer exists where I grew up. In my opinion, Fountain Hills is a paradise. Not just the town, but the people. I love it here!