Resident opposes imposition of curbside recycling

Things I understand:

Recycling is a good thing.

The village board has the final say (regardless of the opposition to how it is paid for).

The mayor can put this feather into his re-election bid (I got us curbside recycling).

The mayor was swept off his feet by a recycling presentation (controlled garbage pickup).

A vote against the mayor’s pet project could get you reassigned to making sure the parks are mowed.

People are not going to waste their time coming to board meetings to discuss an issue that has been already decided.

The low turnout was not due to the storm (see above comment).

Some people get mad when I refer to Orion as Hooterville, but then again, the paper quoted some of our citizens as “excited” about getting a new garbage can to put pop cans into.

A lot of people who talk with me on this issue are P.O.ed about being forced to pay for this, whether they use it or not.

Somebody will write a rebuttal to this and claim it has nothing to do with politics … and the road in front of my house is not one step up from a cart path.

Disagreement is not disrespect … Don’t take it personally.

Things I don’t understand

Why is the mayor stating at board meetings that Eagle Enterprises is the only company on the Illinois side of the river who can do this. A simple internet check would show Allied Waste and Midland Davis also do curbside recycling on the Illinois side of the river in the Quad Cities. If they can do this in the cities, I think they can handle Hooterville. OOPS!

Some of the cities are volunteer curbside recycling. They don’t jam it down their citizens’ throats regardless of what they want. Why can’t we do that?

Why was the mayor offended by the word “Mafia”? Didn’t the Mafia force their will on the people (legally or illegally), whether they wanted it or not? What’s the difference?

How does the board know how much single trash pickup would cost us without receiving any bids?

Why is the board talking about Eagle Enterprises as though they already have the deal wrapped up?

How can a single trash pickup for the village have less wear and tear on the roads? If 800 houses have to be collected every week, where is the less wear and tear on the roads? Eight hundred houses is 800 houses—HELLO.

I have ridden around the village for five days in a row. I have seen a few pop cans, some candy wrappers, a milk carton, a cigarette box. The mayor has told me at a meeting the village is broke. This is not broke in my book, it’s people being lazy.

If recycling is a big issue for you and your family, fine. Why don’t you pay for it yourself? If I help pay for your recycling, will you split the cost of my high-speed wireless internet?

After all, it’s all about personal options. (Unless you’re not smart enough to figure out what’s best for you and your families, then the village board will make that decision for you.)

Now, here’s my plan. I’m working on a high-speed, low-drag PowerPoint presentation to show our board members. I should be the only one in the village to be allowed to sell adult beverages.

This way I could save our citizens money by volume sales. This leaves them more money to spend in Orion.

It would save on wear and tear of our village streets if all these trucks only go from Rt. 150 to my place and directly back to Rt. 150. Less dollars on street repair.

A single liquor license for the village clerk to type and collect fees. This would free her up for more important things.

I could set my daughter in the audience to ask me rhetorical questions that everyone knows the answer to.

SOUND SILLY; REALLY … REALLY …; LOOK AT OUR VILLAGE BOARD!

And finally, don’t get upset when I refer to Orion as Hooterville. It was in the Hooterville paper that someone was excited about getting a new garbage can to put paper and cans into. We truly live in Hooterville! Sorry.

Dale Stiles