Other People’s Mail
Last week I received the following letter from one of my constituents. Well written and quick to the point, the letter addressed the litter problem in Raytown.
Dear Aldermen:
I moved to Raytown in January of 2021. I am a native of the Greater Kansas City area, but this is my first time living in the eastern Jackson County area.
I am writing to you regarding the alarming litter problem in Raytown and surrounding municipalities. It is astounding to me that the problem continues to go unaddressed. I’m starting to feel like I live in a landfill.
In an article entitled “The Effects of Litter on the Environment and Communities, Litter-Study-Summary-Report-May-2021_final_05172021.pdf (kab.org) the following is written: “The list of social problems caused by litter and trash is also extensive. Litter creates safety, fire, and a variety of human health hazards . . . Many studies have shown that when litter already exists, people are more likely to continue littering in that same area . . . Researchers are repeatedly finding that litter actually increases crime . . . In residential areas, litter has been found to decrease property value and in commercial areas, it decreases customers and reduces sales . . .” (emphasis added).
In the Keep America Beautiful (“KAB”) 2020 National Litter Study (“Study") (https:// kab.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Litter-Study-Summary-ReportMay-2021_final_05172021.pdf)
it states that, “Litter affects environmental, community, and individual health, as well as quality of life, economic development, the circularity of the economy, the safety of our water, environmental justice, and our climate. . . . preventing litter not only makes our communities healthier and safer places to live and protects our natural environment, it also relieves a significant strain on government budgets and taxpayers.” The KAB Study further states:
“A large majority of U.S. residents agree that the presence of litter affects the environment, waterways, property taxes, home values, tourism and businesses, quality of life, and health and safety in their communities.” (Emphasis added.)
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| BY GREG WALTERS |
Thank you for your letter.
I agree 100% with your view of the problem. Litter is an increasing problem in Raytown as in most of the metropolitan area. I own a building just two blocks from City Hall in Downtown Kansas City. The accumulation of trash in the Downtown area is astounding.
I believe litter and its near cousin, "graffiti" are a blight on our cities. Both are signs of decay, neglect and a lack of civility that is astounding in our culture. In my opinion the only sure solution to the problem is increased code enforcement and awareness of the problem.
With that in mind I have sent a copy of your letter to the Chief of Police and asked that he comment on the topic at our next City Council meeting.
The first best step we can take is to have a discussion regarding the problem.
I appreciate you bringing your thoughts to my attention. Though I am sure it is a difficult problem to solve, we can start the conversation to find a solution.
Greg Walters
Alderman, Ward 1
There is a madman on the loose!
BY PAUL LIVIUS
War is
always terrifying. What is happening in Ukraine is especially terrifying
because in this Century our technology has become so efficient
that we can literally watch the war in real time from the comfort of our living
rooms. For that matter, we can watch in anywhere on our cell phones.
There is
something about watching a building explode in real time that far surpasses the
“wrap up” of what happened that day in the war. Strangely enough, it does not
matter who is doing the tell, FOX, CNN, ABC, CBS – all of the reporting is
fresh and accurate.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia is a mad man who came to power in
2012. He believes he can turn back the historical clock to a time before the fall
of the Iron Curtain that separated Eastern and Western Europe up until 1989.
It was on August 19, 1989 when the
Berlin Wall was opened to unfettered access for East and West Germans. It
marked the disintegration of what was called the Iron Curtain that divided
Eastern Europe from Western Europe.
Russia’s past three wars
are textbook examples of how they use military force to achieve political
goals. The invasion of Georgia in 2008 lasted five days but forced that country
into humiliating political concessions.
In Ukraine in 2014, regular
Russian military units were deployed in overwhelming numbers for a few weeks.
It proved to be enough to force Kyiv to sign a painful peace deal in which they
ceded control over Crimea.
When Russia intervened in
Syria in 2015, some Western analysts predicted a disaster along the lines of
the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which began in 1979 and ended, after a
decade of quagmire, in retreat. Instead, Syria’s civil war served as a testing ground for Russia’s most advanced weaponry.
President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy 0f Ukraine has a done an admirable job of uniting his country. Over
11,000 private citizens have volunteered to fight the invading Russians. And
those are only those known to have properly registered. The number of
volunteers was so great not all were registered, but simply handed a rifle and
told where to go.
America and NATO were slow
to bring sanctions against Russia for its illegal war. If they are serious
about keeping Ukraine as a sovereign nation they must do more. The enforcement
of “no fly zones” would be an effective way of forcing Russia to the peace
table.
Vladimir Putin is a mad
man. He is willing to bring death and destruction to people who are related to
Russia by blood for the gain of their territory. If the allies allow Ukraine to
fall, it will be the fourth country to do so since Putin came to power. It will
most certainly not be the last.
World leaders need to look
in their history books. Putin’s rise to power, his control over the government,
even the arguments he is using to justify is illegal war are reminiscent of the
late 1930’s.
The world leader that came
to power then was able to do so because allied nations were slow to answer his
aggression on peaceful countries in Europe. His name was Adolf Hitler. Putin is
a different name, but he is using the same playbook Hitler used.
Anonymous' message to Putin BY ANONYMOUS
The Twitter account of Anonymous discussed the
entire Russia and Ukraine conflict in detail, with a warning for Putin.
"The ongoing invasion of Ukraine has
shown that your regime has no respect for human rights or the self-determination
of your neighbors," their video statement started.
"In the past several days, a full-scale
invasion has commenced, civilian neighborhoods have been bombed and innocent
people have been killed.
"Refugees are fleeing the violence and
the population is being forced into conscription by Ukrainian officials.
"This is an ugly situation all around,
but you are the instigator.
"You have criticized the US military and
NATO for their occupation and bombardment of the middle east, which is
certainly a fair criticism, but you have shown that you are no better than the
imperialist governments that you criticize and the whole world can see through
your propaganda.
"Even the citizens that you are claiming
to protect are entirely against the war and protesting across dozens of major
cities in Russia.
"Your tyrannical response to the Russian
anti-war protestors will only spark further unrest among the Russian people,
who are suffering the consequences of your foolish actions.
"The sanctions will hurt your citizens
far more than they will hurt you, which is why the sanctions are not a proper
deterrent.
"Now, the most popular resistance has
come from within, due to concerns that your ambitions for conquest are much
greater than you are willing to admit.
"If you continue on this path, you will
lose support among Russian citizens, other countries around the world will
refuse to cooperate with you and you will face unprecedented cyber attacks from
all corners of the world.
"Members of Anonymous have declared cyber
war against your aggressive regime, with numerous government websites being
taken offline in the past several days.
"A few downed websites is only the
beginning, though. Soon you will feel the wrath of the world's hackers, many of
whom likely reside from your home country.
"Your secrets may no longer be safe and
there is a chance that key components of your government's infrastructure could
be hijacked.
"Now, with the invasion of Ukraine, the
previous invasions of Georgia and Crimea are starting to come into focus and
show a clear strategy for Russia to recapture areas that were once held by the
Soviet Union.
"The Soviet Union failed many years ago
and the world has not forgotten the brutality of that regime. The people of the
world will resist you every step of the way.
"This is not a war that you can win regardless of how
powerful you think you are."
11 comments:
Please pray for the people in Ukraine. They are an inspiration to all of us.
February 28, 2022 at 5:34 PM, Thank you for your comment. The people and pets of the Ukraine are in my prayers.
Andy Whiteman
After reading the article about litter in Raytown, I feel compelled to comment. I've spent a lot of time picking up trash, on the streets around my neighborhood in Raytown for the last 18 months or so. My opinions are based on hands-on experience. There are several steps that could improve the situation, but the most important of them is to understand that any solution will require effort, and most likely, money. I've had conversations with lots of folks including the Chamber of Commerce, the Police Dept, city employees and even the Mayor. It seems to me that there should be a place where public trash can be taken, and I've tried to push that idea. The people I've spoken with seem interested, but seem less than enthusiastic about the city getting involved. The good news is that the public works department sometimes lets me take large items to them, and they've also been good about picking up large items if I call and ask them to help. Also I should mention that several local business owners and even some private citizens have helped me by letting me leave them a full trash bag. I've met and talked with a lot of really nice people, who give me encouragement. Yes, there should be some discussion about how to deal with litter at an alderman's meeting. Maybe it can lead to something positive. For now, we need to understand that the people who create the problem are not interested in solving it. That leaves it to the rest of us. Maybe the city will get involved, and come up with a good solution that is cost efficient. Or we could just solve it ourselves, without any help from the city. Anything that helps, helps.
To 2/22 5:53 PM
Agreed. The city should take a lead in cleaning up Raytown. I applaud your efforts to at least get platitudes from the elite in Raytown about how much they want to clean up litter. You were at least listened to.
You probably heard excuses like we do not have the manpower, we do not have the money, etc., etc., etc.
Let's look at what they spend their money on. My favorite is the electronic monument sign in front of city hall. It only faces one direction of a three way intersection. The type is nearly impossible to read and it is on one of the least travelled streets in Raytown. The price tag? $40,000.00!!!
I wonder how much litter could be picked up for $40,000? I wonder how much manpower and money would have been available for at least some of the very good ideas you mentioned in your post.
What ever happened to community service by those who break the law? I know, I know its hard enough to get them to pay their fines but if only a quarter of offenders "did their time" then maybe just maybe our streets in Raytown would look a little better! Honestly I'm embarrassed when I have friends or Family from other cities visit it looks like a dumping ground for trash, broken down furniture AND shopping carts. And yes I do my part of picking up trash in my neighborhood.
I asked Judge Fann about that once. She said they spent more money getting the criminals to do the work than it was worth. Now they just give them a monetary fine. And, no. they don't pay.
I have wondered about that last comment that basically says it is not worth the effort to make people do community service properly. I have been to municipal court in Raytown. When it comes to enforcement they sure do not have that attitude of giving up because it is not worth the effort to make people follow the rules. If someone is wearing a hat or hood, they are clearly told to remove it. If someone does not follow the rules of the court, they are removed from the court room. Sometimes by an armed officer.
Seems to me that when it comes close to home at City Hall the rules are enforceable.
When it has to do with something small like cleaning up our city. Oh my! It is just toooo hard to enforce.
I've wondered the same thing about cleanup as part of community service. I don't know this, but I suspect that there may be some liability issues that create possible problems. What if someone is picking up trash for community service, and gets hit by a car? Imagine the lawsuits. I'm not trying to find fault with any of the previous comments, but another question might be "whatever happened to community service for it's own sake?"
I see people picking up litter in their neighborhoods when they are out walking for recreation. I know when I got home from work yesterday I drove by a Wendy's cup laying in the middle of the street in front of my house. So I picked it up and threw put it where it belonged, in the trash. Litter is everywhere. I remember when I was a child they were ads on television reminding people not to be a litter bug. Those commercials were aimed at the young. Parents would remind their children not to litter.
Those days are long past. About all we can do now is lead by example. I will continue to pick up the litter. Leading by example may be the only way left for the good people of Raytown.
I do agree the city could do much more. Trash cans for the public that are convenient would be a good start. Our city parks do a good job of putting them out for the public. Maybe the city will follow the park department lead.
I wonder how often the police enforce anti-litter laws? I am sure they have plenty on their plate already. But you would think every now and then someone is witnessed by the police throwing their trash from their car onto the street.
I've lived in Raytown a long time. To all of you who are taking action, THANK YOU!. I remember those commercials too. More public trash cans wouldn't hurt, I don't think it should cost very much. I think the city used to have some recycling bins, what happened? I'm convinced that keeping things clean makes people feel better, and we can all use a little of that.
I would like to see the City do something with businesses that closed up during covid yet still own buildings and other than mow no maintenance happens. So shopping carts full of junk trash dropped off at dumpster. Not inside outside. I e. TV.. can't believe how we turn our heads at this .
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