September 15, 2004
Wednesday

This morning a copy of some of the Fish Pirates Daughter play was found along Revilla Rd.  It is something good, but bad where it was found as trash.  Then there was the white plastic shopping bag in the middle on Mile 6 N. Tongass.  It was someones lunch sandwhich (good) which was now litter (bad) caused by someones carelessness.  I guess they will pay the penalty about noon.
 
On a more serious note, the burners and dumpers have been working overtime on Revilla Road at the pull out.  The burned Subaru that was a little way down the road was towed to the pull out area, then set on fire.  It was a fairly nice car three weeks ago, then the vandals broke the windows and now they set it on fire.

 

They are also busy turning the area into a dump and trash area with no respect for the decent citizens of Ketchikan, (or themselves for that matter) as they continue their stupid ways to trash the roads, environment, and air we breathe by dumping and  burning pallets, wood, and tires.  "Let's go have a beer, burn a few pallets and tires and make a mess!  Ya, Man, Cool, let's do it and get trashed while we trash the place." seems to be their battle cry.  Meanwhile there are some people that try to make Ketchikan a better place by properly taking care of their trash and cleaning up others trash.
 
The two photos of the Subaru show the handiwork of the destructive slobs in the community.  A month ago someone was driving this car, now the Borough gets to clean it up.  You can see where they put the tire to burn out the engine.  I wonder if their pyromania will graduate to a higher level which will hurt someone more than just burning their car.  What happened to the rubber hoses, the fan belt, the insulation, the plastic interior, the nylon seat belts, the padding, the foam on  the dash, the plastic light covers and the other man made parts of a car?

 

It is sad that it will take twenty years (or maybe never) for these guys and gals to realize how stupid they are being now!  May their taxes go up exponentially to pay to clean up their messes and the damage they are teaching others to do now, which will continue for how many generations?
 
What reason is there for shooting and wasting the river otter?  I watched them play on and under the docks at Clover Pass Resort several years ago.  Now someone is deprived of the chance to see their antics and enjoying them.  People can legally take animal during the trapping season and use their hides, but why waste them?
 
There is no excuse for dumping batteries along the road when NAPA will take them for nothing to be recycled and properly disposed of!  Now the lead and acid is in the soil and water to harm fish and maybe their and your children in Ward Lake or when they eat fish.
 
Burning tires is STUPID. Just like burning the car.  With the amount of carcinogens put into the air as well as the particulate matter, they are just killing us.  The next time you fly into Ketchikan on a clear day, look toward the horizon.  That brown layer over the earth is smog, air pollution, part of those burned tires.  That is what we are breathing now!  Or should we be like California where they don't trust any air they can't see!  Let's have some good black solid air, something firm to suck into our lungs!  Burn some more trash, tires, cars, lets get a good amount of soot and carcinogens in the air we breathe!  We will pay the price, not only to clean this mess up, but your children will pay with greater health problems as will our senior citizens and everyone in between!
 
The Borough, (read YOUR name in place of Borough as YOU are the Borough) needs your help in stopping this vandalism and destruction.  Speak out about it to your children and their friends, your neighbors, and let them know you will not tolerate it and will do something about it if you know who is doing it (and let them know you expect them to do something also)!  Then DO it!  Let the State Troopers or myself know who is doing this.  Unless we have your help the problem will not go away, it will only get worse and you will pay more for it each and every day.  I don't know about you but I get uncomfortable watching someone fight for a breath of air when their lungs are shot due to the pollution they have been exposed to.  That's how my grandfather died, hooked up to an oxygen bottle.  My brother was coughing up blood from dust and the pollution he was exposed to and will suffer for the rest of his life.  You're being exposed to it due to the stupid and illegal actions of others, don't be a victim, fight back or you and your children will be real victims.
 
 
Yours for a cleaner Ketchikan,
 
Jerry Cegelske
Code enforcement
Ketchikan Gateway Borough
E-mail: jerry.cegelske@borough.ketchikan.ak.us
907-228-6621
Ketchikan, AK - USA

 

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