We have been appreciative members of Sutter Lakeside Wellness Center since late 2005. The gym and the classes have been an invaluable part of our weekly lives and a key reason we are healthy and active.

We want to thank all those, especially Vera Crabtree, who have worked to keep the Wellness Center operating successfully. A special thanks goes to Mary Ohm, Tina Hamner, Rama Diva and Michelle Marie Duguay for their expertise in teaching classes. They are some of the best classes I’ve taken anywhere.

All of this good feeling and gratitude leads us to express our sincere disappointment in the closing of the Wellness Center.

We understand that the hospital operates under a business model, but are dismayed that other options were not publicly explored to maintain the service to the community that the center has offered.

The numbers of members and average age of regular participants in the center’s activities would suggest that this is a very valuable contributor to good health in Lake County.

To close it seems counterproductive, if good health is your mission.

We urge you to reconsider ways to continue serving your clients.

Barbara and Willis Knight live in Lakeport, Calif.