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LETTER: Worthwhile cleanup program doomed

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Worthwhile cleanup program doomed

Permit me to respond to the March 17 letter from Parker Burroughs bemoaning the lack of leadership in addressing the problem of litter on our county’s highways and byways.

In 1997, as a newly elected commissioner, I created the Washington County Beautification Program. Over the next four years that program grew to over 50 of our municipalities participating in an annual cleanup of our county roads and public spaces. Annually this program fielded hundreds of volunteers and picked up tons of trash, yes, tons of trash.

In 2002, my “colleagues” chose to attack me and the program and the Observer-Reporter{/em} gleefully covered the controversy on the front page. They refused to allow me to use any county employees to help with the coordination of the cleanup and the program died.

I believe that program would be alive today if not for the unwarranted attacks from the commissioners and the cooperation of the Observer-Reporter{/em} in making a worthwhile program seem unworthy.

Bracken Burns

Washington{&end}

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