In regard to Paul West's article in Sunday's Sun, "The battle is joined in Queen Anne's" (Jan. 17), I would like to add a few comments. As trustee of my family's farm, which borders the Hunt Ray farm where the proposed Foreign Affairs Training Center is proposed to be built, I am legally bound to protect the interest and value of our farm. Those interests are threatened by the proposed facility in the following ways.

My greatest concern is for the safety of my two children who play outside of our back door only 500 yards from where ordinance will be tested. Detonation of 3-pound bombs and other firearms will not be silent, and the impact on all of us, especially our girls, would be horrendous. How would continous ordinance testing on the Eastern Shore's sandy soil affect the foundation of my home, built in 1858? In addition, the facility is adjacent to Tuckahoe State Park, where people come to learn about the environment and enjoy the sound of frogs in the ponds and birds in the woods. That would be drowned out by the sounds of automatic weapons. Our peaceful, quiet landscape would be shattered.

We have been presented with the first phase of the proposed facility. Will the next phase cause our property to be condemned? I did not hear about the proposed facility until December 22, when I attended our county commissioners meeting. The Hunt Ray Farm landowner, The General Services Administration and the Queen Anne's County Government have been negotiating the deal since August.

Anne Eastman, Centreville

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