Published: November 23, 2007 11:27 am            

City needs to extinguish burning in open containers

There has been much controversy over whether to ban burning in the city of Clinton and to me the pros of having a burn ban outweighs the cons.

Let me give you a series of examples: I do believe that the pollutants in the air can cause distress in people who have respiratory problems and asthma. I should know, I have a stepson who has asthma. Burning limits people from opening up their homes and letting fresh air in and for those people who still hang their clothes out on their clothesline, it makes them smell. I feel that I as a citizen who chooses not to burn I am having to adjust my life around people who burn and I shouldn’t have to.

We have so many pollutants in the air coming from ADM, National By Products, etc. and if we can put a burn ban in the city of Clinton we can eliminate at least one of many of the pollutants that contaminates the air we breathe. I am not alone when I choose to buy compost bags for our leaf and yard waste. I like knowing that I am composting, recycling and reducing landfill without dealing with the smells of open containers. In fact their products are so environmentally friendly they turn into compost along with organic waste. Mulching your leaves with a mower is another way you can refrain from using open containers as well as getting family members together to help rake leaves. Compost bags cost $7 for 10, 33-gallon bags and it is well worth the money in keeping our city pollutant-free from open containers.

I also recycle cans, plastics and newspapers and with a little effort in washing out the insides of cans and plastics we use and removing labels it is worth it to have less garbage to put out weekly.

Garbage collectors will also take magazines that have twine around them and you can also break down boxes, which they’ll also take.

I save by putting two tall kitchen garbage bags in a black garbage bag weekly for only $1 after putting a city of Clinton garbage sticker around the top of the bag. So many items such as cereal boxes, pop can boxes, etc. can be torn up and thrown away in your garbage. And if you are worried about getting rid of your documents or prescription labels, tear them up into smaller pieces or use a paper shredder for the documents. The firemen in Clinton have more important emergency calls that should take priority instead of having to take time out of their busy schedule to tend to an illegal burn call. People need to pay attention to the days in which the burning takes place, the time and burning only dry leaves and yard waste. With so many cities already passing a burn ban, let’s be the next city to extinguish burning in open containers once and for all.

Phil Huntley,

Clinton native



Reader supports Biden for President

I am writing today in support of Senator Joe Biden. I am a native of Delaware and have had the privilege of voting for Senator Biden. He was always a strong advocate for women, health care, education and families. One of the reasons I feel so strongly that he should be our next President is that whatever the issue we could always count on Senator Biden to tell us the truth.

His experience on the Foreign Relations Committee has made him uniquely qualified for the problems our country is facing today. He already has established relationships with many world leaders. Several of the candidates have come out with similar plans for Iraq after endorsing Senator Biden’s plan in several debates. This was very evident in the last debate as evidenced by recent legislation passed in congress. He has set an example to the rest of congress with his ability to work with members of both parties. More than any other candidate, Senator Biden will be able to work with congress to accomplish solutions for the problems facing us. Senator Biden proved his abilities as a leader early on in his career when as a young county council member he stood up to all of the big oil, gas and chemical companies when they wanted to continue building chemical plants along the coast of Delaware. This was a very difficult challenge and not necessarily the popular choice. He stood up and was counted as someone who would make the difficult but the right choice for his state. Delaware has one the most beautiful and preserved coastlines on the East Coast because of his action. He will make the same type of choices for our country. I have heard from many people who support his policies and solutions for our many problems. They are concerned abut his standing in the polls. If everyone who is concerned about that would support Senator Biden at the January caucuses, we could have a landslide victory.

Patsy Nichols,

Camanche

        

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