Here is a draft copy of what i'm sending the paper as a letter to the editor. Tell me if I should add or remove anything.
I am replying to the column ‘Area church a victim of online game’ that was printed on October 18th. The fears that geocaching and the holes that have been found at the historic African church and cemetery in the township of Oro-Medonte are linked are simply untrue. As a local Geocacher I am disappointed in the lack of facts that the article provided. Geocaching allows no digging of any kind. The cache located at the African church is a virtual cache meaning there is no container to locate. The idea of virtual cache is to draw people to locations where physical or traditional caches can’t be placed and is usually a place of historical or educational value. Since there is no physical container at a virtual cache the Geocacher must take a picture of himself with a GPS to prove that he was there or answer a online trivia question like dates or names that can be found at the cache. The idea for the virtual cache at the African church is to show Geocachers the local history of the Underground Railroad; many people don’t know that the site in Oro-Medonte was one of the earliest black settlements in Ontario. The virtual cache at the African church has been there since June 2002 and found by over 90 Geocachers all commenting on the great history of the caches location. While Geocachers are visiting caches they are encouraged to Cache In Trash Out or CITO where the Geocacher cleans up any garbage seen while Geocaching. A few Geocachers have reported in their online logs doing some CITO and removing garbage from the African church site. Aside from virtual caches there is another type of cache, which the article vaguely refers to are called traditional caches. Traditional caches have physical containers whether that is a Tupperware container, ammo can or a 35mm film canister is for the cache placer to decide and to be later found by other Geocachers with a GPS. Under no circumstance are these caches ever buried its against the games rules. They are usually placed in fallen logs or on the ground covered in foliage, but never buried.
In the end there is no physical geocaching container at the African church or cemetery. Geocaching is a family oriented game that encourages going outside and getting away from the computer either to locate traditional caches or to visit historical places or places or interest by virtual caching. I encourage anyone interested in geocaching to check it out for themselves at www.geocaching.com
Concerned Geocacher
Name Removed
Edit - I was thinking about this and realized that it was a virtual cache which meant it’s been there a long time without any other problems. I add the line about when it was place and how many people visited it.
Added a few line about CITO thanks you jaktar.
