Letters for 05-04-2008

Curbside pickup not worth the cost
With regard to the plight of the Lincoln Parish trash Dumpsters, I would like to voice my opinion and that is strictly what it is, my opinion, which may not amount to a hill of beans, but here it is.

I am a 61-year resident of Lincoln Parish. When I was a kid growing up on La. 33 North, we burned our garbage in a 55 gallon barrel. When the barrel got full of ash, we took it to a gully on the back side of the place, emptied it, and started over.

The Lincoln Parish Police Jury Solid Waste Superintendent and employees are doing the best job possible with the Dumpsters and trash pick up. It is the “trashy people who are the problem!” Yes, if you litter outside of a dumpster, “you are trashy.”

My suggestion is to leave the Dumpsters where they are. “If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.” Dumpsters are the best thing for Lincoln Parish in 61 years.

If the Lincoln Parish Police Jury removes the Dumpsters, what are the businesses who pay for “on site” Dumpsters going to do — pay more to a private company for Dumpster service and then pass the increased cost for their goods on to the residents of Lincoln Parish.

Increased costs are problems for us all. If the Dumpsters are removed, I personally will not pay extra for roadside pickup. I will get a new burn barrel. No matter what EPA, DEQ or XYZ says.

Rather than grueling about garbage, I feel that the elected members of the Lincoln Parish Police Jury should direct their “Dumpster” energy toward possible solutions to help citizens deal with the ever-rising cost of gasoline and groceries.

Who knows, if the cost of gasoline and groceries continue to rise, there very well may be less garbage.

Reagan Pylant
Lincoln Parish

Columnist offered fresh viewpoint
Kudos to Louisiana Tech professor Jeffery Hankins for his recent column on the intermingling of spiritual, communal, administrative and pecuniary elements in the historical development of Christianity (“Toleration can aid prosperity,” Ruston Daily Leader, April 25).

Professor Hankins’ impartial commentary offers a refreshing contrast to the endless deluge of sermons, testimonials, homilies, propaganda and blurbs for Christianity that swamp the Leader. Christianity is not without value, but, like St. Paul’s wine for ailments, a little goes a long way.

Gary Sloan
Ruston