Mountain Inn Story Causes Stink (Outtakes Opinion)

The Morning News sent two reporters to snoop around the dilapidated seven-story Mountain Inn in Fayetteville, and we enjoyed reading their story on Page 1 of the July 31 issue.

We learned that, after the story was published, some people questioned the ethics of sending reporters into a building on private property, saying it was trespassing and broke the law.

We pondered this for a while and decided the reporters had a right to investigate. An upper-level door (accessible through the five-story parking garage) was open, so they didn’t break in. And they were unable to reach the owner, Stella Moga, by telephone.

Legally, it may have been trespassing, but we suspect good reporters and photographers trespass from time to time in the name of public service. If the building is open with people going in and out of it on a regular basis, it’s almost a public place anyway.

We believe the residents of Fayetteville have a right to know what is going on in the crumbling building that had once been the pride of downtown Fayetteville. The reporters even stumbled across the makings of a meth lab in the Mountain Inn.

We applaud enterprising journalism.