Letters to the Editor: June 10, 2016

Road is a hazard

I’m a resident near the intersection of Seventh Street and Duniway Road, and city officials have never posted a speed limit sign to replace the 25 mph sign removed during road widening.

On the incoming N.E. Stoller Road, there’s a reduced speed limit sign. There have been many close calls between cars and pedestrians. It seems Lafayette officials will only take notice of this dangerous problem once someone is severely injured or killed. It’s turned into a miniature dragstrip for some.

Gary Johnson

Dayton

A modest proposal

As a gesture of goodwill, what about Waste Management, Inc. helping the tenants of Mulkey RV Park with their relocation?

Darrell King

McMinnville

Shine the light

I have had the great good fortune of having lived in Yamhill County for the past 30 years, with the past 17 in McMinnville.

Having lived in Minnesota, California and North Dakota, as well as Germany, I have great reference points for quality of life and well-managed cities.

McMinnville has a solid government. It is well-run financially and its publicly owned utilities have to be among the world’s finest.

All of this is great, and every official and resident should be very proud of all of these. However, I am a very senior citizen, and I find that there is a real problem involving both public safety and citizen convenience.

Certain stop signs are invisible to all and most certainly to those of us with less than 20/20 vision. It is a fact that a 20-year-old needs one-tenth the light to see at night as a 70-year-old.

All stop sign should have fluorescent tape, reflectors and other means to make them visible at night. We dare not drive to unfamiliar locations at night for fear of driving through a stop sign.

There are also some routine maintenance items that should be addressed without adding cost to the public works budget.

They include pruning trees and shrubs that completely block visibility of the signs until you are 10 feet away from them. City crews can carry pruners and loppers and eliminate this problem on a daily basis.

Signs that are placed behind utility poles and other obstructions should be moved.

Alan Wenner

McMinnville

Just a small delay

I am saddened to read about the displacement of folks who are residing in Mulkey RV Park.

I am appalled by the defensiveness and lack of compassion exhibited by both Waste Management’s spokesperson, Jackie Lang, and the park manager, Jackie Lane.

They both fall back on the fact that the closing of the park has been in the works for years. While that may be true, I suggest delaying the closure of the park for 90 days.

This will allow residents additional time to find suitable alternative living conditions when trailer parks are not filled to capacity. I can’t imagine that taking possession of the property by the middle of next month is critical to Waste Management’s long-term business plan, particularly when the landfill’s expansion has not passed its final hurdle.

Show some class, folks. It might just make landfill expansion a bit more palatable to the larger community.

Rich Emery

Neotsu