September 27, 2005
Tuesday PM

We're past the autumnal eqinox and the days are getting shorter.  Of course that means the nights are getting longer, which means there is more time to dump stuff in the dark now than there was several months ago.  Why is this little fact important to the people of Ketchikan?  This means you're paying to haul your lazy neighbor's trash to the dump!  What a deal!  Just what you wanted to spend your hard earned money for.
 
We have a mattress set dumped on N. Tongass, a chair at the airport 14 day parking lot, and abandoned vehicles turning to junk around the Borough.

It can't be the money as the landfill with take most household items for free, the Borough will take junk cars for free; what's the answer?

Maybe it's a big game and you get to pay the entry fee!
 
Sunday night after I went through the tunnel heading North, there was a Mc'ds bag in the middle of the street that someone threw out of their vehicle.  Thank goodness that won't be happening again as tourist season ends today and we won't have them messing up our town anymore until next spring.  Wonder where they hauled the mattress and box springs from?
 
Maybe you don't get the fun of seeing all the discarded trash that should have been taken to the landfill (for free), but I hope that you are tired of seeing your money being used to clean up their messes.  If you see your neighbor taking off at 9 pm with a mattress, junk desk and three bags of trash, and come back 20 minutes later without it, maybe a lightbulb should come on telling you that they didn't leave it legally at the landfill.
 
I like the cop shows where the officer is starting to read the arrested individual's "rights" to them and they say "I know my "rights".  I always wanted one of the officers to say, "OK, you know your rights, What are your responsibilities?  Maybe they should have put a "Bill of Responsibilities" in the constitution along with a "Bill of Rights" to let some people know what is expected of them.  I guess some people expect the rest of us to take care of them and their trash throughout their lives.
 
On a brighter note, "Thanks" to the Ketchikan Youth Court for picking up the litter on N. Tongass several weeks ago.  Also the the Forester's for picking up mile 6 N. Tongass this last weekend.  Thanks for being responsible members of the community.  Your work is appreciated by many of us who see the results of your efforts.  Several people have commented on your work to me and respect and admire you for it.

Jerry Cegelske
Code enforcement
Ketchikan Gateway Borough
jerry.cegelske@borough.ketchikan.ak.us
228-6621
Ketchikan, AK - USA

 

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