News - Editorial - Letters

Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Nov. 1 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Container-deposit law could reduce litter — and pay to clean up the rest

A recent article in the Sun Herald caught my eye and my interest. It was about Mississippi’s first lady, Marsha Barbour, coming to the Coast to film scenes for a “Let’s Go Walking, Mississippi” commercial. Due to inclement weather, organizers had to postpone the scenes featuring a walk across the Ocean Springs-Biloxi bridge.

Well, this is food for thought, organizers. Why don’t you stage a walk for cleaning up and picking up trash, bottles, cans and containers to Keep Mississippi Green?

Recently, 10 of us from our church joined the cleanup group along the Bluff Creek and Pascagoula River watershed. We picked up the Barge Landing area in Vancleave. From this very small area along Bluff Creek we acquired three pickup loads of bottles, cans and trash.

Mrs. Barbour is among leaders who could make a difference here in Mississippi. She could sponsor a deposit law requiring every retailer in the state to charge a 10-cent refundable deposit on every container of water, pop, beer and juice. Many other states have successfully implemented this law, creating jobs cleaning the roadways and protecting the environment.

Mississippians need leaders who can get this law enacted. It’s time for a change, and only we, the people, can make it happen. Yes, the eyes of other states are upon us, but it is our eyes that need a change. If some unthinking or uncaring people still throw bottles and cans, there will be others who will value the pickup income, and the bottles and cans will be recycled.

STEWART R. MONTGOMERY

Vancleave

We can ‘fix’ many violent kids before we need more jail cells

From my letter sent to President Obama and Sen. Hatch:

The only way to deal with juvenile violence is to “fix” the ones we can and put the others away!

Educational and Vocational Training Boot Camps, as outlined in Section 103 of definitions in Senate Bill 254 and House Bill 1818 of 1999, are the only way to begin to “fix” large numbers of these violence-prone teens. The boot camp program is comprehensive, it addresses the “whole person,” and it uses the most qualified training personnel — our returning heroes who are separating from active duty military service. These boot camps would be in every state and would provide participants with every opportunity to succeed. They would use every resource available and might be the one and only chance many of these kids will have. After we do this, we can identify the ones who will continue to be a threat to society and let justice take its course.

Since S 254 and HR 1818 of 1999 could not be reconciled, we have lost thousands of these youth. We need to start fixing these kids now!

BILL RITCHIE

D’Iberville

Your signal says, ‘I’m not paying attention’

As cell phone use in cars increases, turn signal use decreases proportionately.

JIM RANDOLPH

Long Beach

The Sun Herald invites letters to the editor from readers on subjects of public interest. Maximum length 300 words. Include a name, address and phone number. Writers’ names and communities of residence are printed with all published letters. E-mail addresses are printed with the writer’s consent. Submission of a letter implies consent for its publication in the Sun Herald and its online publication. Only one letter per writer per month will be published. Editors reserve the right to edit or reject. Send by fax, 228-896-2104; or mail: Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 4567, Biloxi, MS 39535-4567; or e-mail, letters@sunherald.com.