Dear Editor:

Yesterday I stopped in the Solid Waste office and had a chat with Ed Riley about the future of our county landfill and the green boxes.  Pocahontas County is the only county in WV that has its own little Class C county landfill, and I am grateful that we have been able to provide the service that we have at such an economical cost.  It may seem like a lot, because it comes all at once with the property tax bill, but even at the proposed increase to $98 per year, it is a real deal.  If we had to contract with a private hauler, we would have to pay $200 per year, and people in cities pay $300 to $400 for garbage service, plus they have to use special bags and remember to put it out in dog proof cans on a certain day of the week.

I recycle a lot, and I compost all my kitchen waste, so I only go to the green boxes every six weeks or so with a couple of garbage cans and maybe some boxes for the cardboard recycling shed.  I do not mind that I have to pay the same amount as a large wasteful family that brings a pickup full of
trash bags every week, because I consider that the SWA is providing a service that is convenient enough to keep most folks from throwing their trash over the side of the road where it can affect the groundwater, poison wild animals or nearby pets, and make us look like a bunch of slobs.  There
are some things, such as batteries, leftover paint, and unused medications, that are toxic or dangerous and need to be disposed of in a proper landfill. I look forward to the day when all these things can be recycled, but we're not there yet, especially in rural areas like ours.

If the SWA doesn't have enough income to maintain the landfill and the green boxes, we will lose them.  There is a new proposal to charge by the amount of garbage someone has.  This sounds like it should be fair, but it worries me.  People would have to buy special bags from the SWA for their trash, and the more trash they have, the more bags they would have to buy.  The charge would be something like $3.00 per bag.  For me, that would only be about $30 per year, but for someone with 5 bags per week, the cost would be $780 per year.  I worry that people (especially the people with lots of trash) would just start throwing their trash over the hill again to avoid paying; besides the mess, the SWA would not make enough to keep the landfill. 

Enforcement is not the answer.  Who would do the enforcing?  It was illegal to throw trash over the hill before we had the landfill, but many people did it, and no one seemed to get caught.

I think the system we have is the best all around solution.  I like being able to take my trash to the green boxes at my convenience in the containers I choose.  I dread the thought of having to pay a private hauler $200 per year for the teeny bit of trash I have, and I would probably have to go to
the trouble to take it out to the hard road and put it in some kind of dog proof (bear proof?) container. 

Ed said that the only people who come in to talk about the green boxes are the ones who complain about it and don't want to pay.  The people who are proposing to change to a charge per bag have been very vocal.  If you are concerned about losing our local system and having to pay a lot more with a lot more hassle to get rid of your trash, you should let the SWA know that you support the system we have - right away, before they vote on the charge per bag.

Beth Little
Hillsboro

Dear Editor:

As election time comes up here in the US, I have been thinking of those leaders that I have been influenced the most by and am reminded of a James Taylor song:

“Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King And recognize that there are ties between us All men and women, living on the Earth Ties of hope and love, sister and brotherhood
That we are bound together In our desire to see the world become A place in which our children can grow free and strong We are bound together By the task that stands before us and the road that lies ahead We are bound, we are bound”

I remember thinking shortly after 9/11 that the True Response would be that of love and non-violence exemplified by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Violence only begets violence, terror only begets terror. “Terrorists” are actually “terrified,”  those of us who believe the response to “terrorist” acts is to create more terror do not see the truth of this. We are all bound together by the wishes expressed above so eloquently by James. The major problem with our country’s “foreign policy” is that we believe that there is anything “foreign” to us. All of us, every one of us, love our children and family. We all want to be fed, warm, sheltered, have valuable work to do and to have a sense of self-worth. This is not “foreign” to us, it is essential to being human. Anyone saying anything different is denying their own innermost truth: that There is only one of us and that we are bound together by this truth.

I pray everyday that this truth become realized by all of us that are one family. We must acknowledge this truth in every moment in our lives, in every act that we perform. I wish to vote for truth, for love, for sister and brotherhood. I pray that we can have representatives in our government who have the courage of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., and who have the understanding that only love can bring peace to our world. None of us, anywhere on this planetary home of ours, deserves less. “We are bound, we are bound….”

Phil Rolleston
Hillsboro

Dear Editor:

To the fine folks of Pocahontas County;  Please exercise your right to vote next Tuesday, November 7.  Keep this in mind: people in other countries wait in line for hours to cast their votes. 

Normally, in this country, a person can cast their vote in 30 minutes or less. 

You can also vote early to help with your busy schedule; call the county clerk’s office for the hours.  Please participate in our democracy—vote!

Thank you,
Caroline Sharp
Hillsboro