LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Why focus on a by-product of residents’ hard work?

After reading the opinion article in the Feb. 21 edition of the Times titled “County-Wide Bad (W)rap” (and subsequent replies in later editions) my 12-yearold daughter and I decided to count the hay wrap lying on the sides of the road. Our trip began on D Highway and ended on JJ at the Douglas County line. I was surprised to see only four partial pieces of wrap in the 12-mile-long trip! Four!
On that same stretch of road, to my extreme disappointment, we counted over 120 beer cans/bottles/boxes! Why are we ignoring this unsightly trash while focusing on one category of trash that happens to be a by-product of hard work?
Some of the solutions being discussed include taxing farm trucks, hay wrap, etc, even though taxing alcoholic beverages has not been effective in keeping alcohol-related trash from being thrown from vehicles.
I have never heard of anyone ever dying of hay wrap, but on the other hand, I don’t know of any adults who have not been affected by an alcohol-related death in one way or another.

Hank Parker
Thornfield

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423