To the Editor:
I would like to thank Tanda Pettit for writing her letter headed "Attala County is Not a Dumping Ground.” I would also like to thank the editor for publishing it. I've had a strong suspicion in the past that previous SH editors simply buried any letters which spoke up to intelligently critique the community. By intelligently critique I mean allowing letters to be published that boldly address some of the negative aspects of Kosciusko/Attala community life, along with speaking of the positives. I think Ms. Pettit's letter was nicely balanced in that regard.
I was amazed recently to read that in 2016 Australia enacted a "Local Nuisance and Litter Control Act.” Even before that Australia had a "Litter Reporter" system set up so that reports about littering were taken seriously and acted on. This apparently hasn’t been the experience of Ms. Pettit in Attala County.
I’d also like to add is that this is not just a County problem outside of the city limits. It is a problem within city limits as well.
With all the talk of attracting tourists to come in from the Trace to Kosciusko, and even apart from that consideration, the stretch of S. Huntington from Hwy 35 leading from the Trace into town is possibly one of the most intensely littered areas I've ever seen. I find it deplorable that people, apparently locals, can be so negligent as to throw their fast food garbage out their car windows onto a main drag street on a regular basis.
Additionally in Kosciusko, there are also some homeowners, landlords and renters who toss household garbage into their yards and into the streets. Kosciusko has a wonderful crew that picks up many forms of discards, but their task does not include picking up household garbage, which is supposed to be bagged and placed in receptacles for pickup. The attached photo is of a pile of household garbage on a rental property in Kosciusko. It has been there since September! Neither the renter nor the landlord have bothered to clean it up all these months.
Anyway, fantastic and much needed letter to be written and published!
Beverly E. Johnson
Kosicusko
