Letters to the Editor - March 7, 2009

Divulge full truth

Tom and Jan Schmidt's letter (Readers' Forum, Feb. 28) was a big disappointment to their neighbors. In their letter, the Schmidts said, "This letter of support for Riverbend Landfill may come as a surprise to some. It is from the farming family that lives and operates a successful business just across the road from the landfill."

What may be a bigger surprise to readers is that Riverbend (Waste Management) owns the farm, not the Schmidts. Riverbend purchased the farm on June 29, 2006, for $1.3 million. For the Schmidts to write a letter in support of the landfill without disclosing this financial benefit and connection is unacceptable. They even went so far as to say they are not worried about property values and that odors have not been bothersome.

This is not the first time a neighbor has benefited financially through the sale of their property and then has had the audacity to promote Riverbend Landfill without disclosing the connection. Most residents of Yamhill County received a letter last summer from another Riverbend Landfill neighbor, Jackie Brosamle, who runs Mulkey RV Park. Her letter supported the Riverbend Landfill expansion. She did not mention that Riverbend owned the land under her business.

Why would the Schmidts and Jackie Brosamle be worried about property values? They don't own the property next to the landfill. Riverbend does.

Ask anyone who has not financially profited in dealings with Riverbend and who lives within a couple of miles of the landfill, and they will tell you the truth. They are frequently bothered by the odors, and they are concerned about their property values. My guess is that for the neighbors who have sold their land to Riverbend, the enticing odor of money is stronger than the odor of trash.

Kris Bledsoe
McMinnville

Life won't collapse

From the tone of some letters to the editor about the landfill, you would think that life in Yamhill County would collapse without a local dump. Riverbend started out as a county landfill; now it brings in 75 percent of the trash from six other counties. These other governments are making more money from tipping fees at transfer stations than Yamhill County is making to store their garbage.

How are Portland and Seattle thriving without a county dump? Seattle transfers its garbage to railroad cars, which haul it to Arlington. For little more than it costs McMinnville to haul garbage to our landfill, Portland Metro can haul trash to Riverbend. Seaside, Cannon Beach, Astoria and Canby move their garbage to a transfer station, sort, compact and ship it here. Are they dying out because they don't have a local dump?

The current contract with Riverbend is until 2014; employees won't lose their jobs now. In fact, those people can be employed at transfer stations, or new technologies that deal with trash, rather than the old means of burying it in the best farmland by a river.

Responsible citizens, will you pay for the clean-up when - not if - the liners break or the toxic-leachate-lagoon leaks when Riverbend reverts to Yamhill County possession? You may save a dollar today, but what about your kids tomorrow?

Yes, Riverbend is going green, as in millions of dollars of profit. Thanks for the 10,000 gulls, the non-native poplar grove watered with toxic leachate, and the mountain of garbage that we'll have for centuries.

Jim Kreutzbender
McMinnville

Deny request

Later this month, our county commissioners will hold a hearing to approve or deny a request by Riverbend Landfill to expand greatly. We hope they will consider all the facts and testimony related to this expansion, reject the propaganda and vote No unanimously to this outrageous proposal, just as the planning commission did in January.

I doubt seriously that Sunset Magazine would have voted our McMinnville as one of the top 20 best small towns in the West if our commerce was completely centered around a 400-foot-tall (above sea level), stinky, noisy dump owned by a Texas corporation. No offense to those from Arlington, Oregon, but we don't want our "food and wine haven" to look and smell like your town.

We lived in Roundup, Mont., in the 1980s when that town's landfill was closed and garbage transferred. I don't recall hearing of any residents or businesses adversely affected by exorbitant new rates. In the 1990s, we lived in Madras, Oregon; again the local landfill was closed and garbage transferred without the town imploding over higher garbage rates.

Imagine our surprise when we moved here and there was still an operating landfill and right next to a river! Is it not the 21st century?

This local dump can continue operating until 2014 even without an expansion. That will give concerned residents and businesses plenty of time to look at the amount of waste they produce and practice being more efficient. If your household trash is picked up once a month instead of twice, you will cut your bill in half. Visit the WOW recovery recycling center once or twice a month, too. You will be able to save money and have the satisfaction of knowing that your trash is not causing misery to other residents of this community.

Pat and Tammy Devine
McMinnville