Dear Editor,                                                                                                                                                                                                May 24, 2003                                                                                                                                                                   

 

According to the Georgia Constitution, Article IX, Section II, para III, counties may provide the following services: police, fire, roads, garbage collection, water purification, health departments, public housing, parks, recreational departments, libraries and a few more.  Mr. Joey Brown’s word “expect” (May 21 issue) regarding citizens receiving garbage services should read  “reasonable expectation.”  If citizens should not consider trash pick up as  “basic government service” paid for by their taxes, quit regulating it at county levels.  But also, call the EPA and tell them to release their law about burning trash and the state government and their laws concerning landfills.  I believe as much money as taxpayers provide in vehicle, sales, property, Federal and State taxes, they certainly should have a reasonable expectation to the above government services.  I for one am tired of hearing the “poor, poor” government version of the story.  With all these taxes and other governmental income from citizens, why are we always soooo broke?

 

The lawsuit I filed in Long County is not about Solid Waste, it’s about whether there has been misuse of government powers and threats.  It’s too bad you never contacted me for the full story, especially after I came to your office twice.   “Taxation without representation (which I feel is specified in the Georgia Constitution Article IX, Section I, Para III)” is written in my petition to the court.  Who do you work for anyway?  I want the county to tell me by what authority they have to require citizens to pay their taxes to a private corporation who has sub-contracted this service down twice to a “long county” business who’s contract is deemed “confidential.”  And by what authority they have to threaten citizens with magistrate court action and a lien placed on their property for non-compliance of payment to this contractor.  Now don’t you think that’s an interesting story.

 

I believe long county residents deserve to have their trash compressor back since it was, as I was told, given to them by government grant.  After all, they are still paying for the dumpster monitor.  With people boycotting this mandate, I believe we are all at a health risk, especially when the county mandates that accounts past due 45/90 days have their trash carts taken away.  Even the county commissioners have stated an expectation of “a high amount of delinquent accounts.”  What will these people do, legally, to dispose of their trash? 

 

I know I promised my web page readers I would write sooner, but I just haven’t been feeling good lately.  Throwing up and diahrrea.  I’d go to the doctor, but you know, they always have bad news.  In my case he might say it’s ecoli or even worse, west nile!   Maybe it’s just stress…..naaaaa.  Perhaps it’s foot ‘n mouth disease?  Is that contagious editor? 

 

I have posted this on my web site www.longcounty.net and I assure you many people are expecting this letter to be posted in your paper, word for word.

 

I really wish the Ludowici Newspaper would email me back regarding obtaining archives of their paper.  It’s like…they dropped off the face of the earth.

 


D. Kathleen Strykr

www.longcounty.net