To Georgetown sewer customers



Recently, you should have received a letter from the Town of Georgetown. In this letter, you were asked to attend a Board of Zoning Appeals meeting Monday to support the Towns plan to build a 350,000 GPD Waste Water Treatment Plant on 75 acres behind the Georgetown Truss Co. Instead, I encourage you to read this letter and make your own informed decision of support.

According to them, this location sets within 900 feet of one residence, but actually there is only 700 feet to the nearest occupied dwelling, which happens to be on the Truss Co. property. Also, it is within 1,200 feet of numbers residences on Richland Drive, SR-64, and Shelby Ct. I myself do not support putting this WWTP near anyone elses subdivision; imagine this WWTP within 1,000 feet of Brookstone, Copperfield, or downtown residents. This board had other locations that were more rural with fewer negative impacts for surrounding neighbors. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you!

This plant should be in a rural area away from anyone’s home. When brought up to Mr. Stewart, Town Council President, he responded on two occasions farther you lay pipe, the more it costs. This is short-term thinking; common sense tells us that the one-time up-front cost associated with a little more pipe is far cheaper than the negative impact of building a WWTP where it doesn’t best serve the needs of the community. Consider the sharp decline in nearby real estate value and lower quality of life.

I am a Georgetown sewer customer, I pay the high sewer rates, and I agree we need a solution to our issue; but Georgetown going into the WWTP business may not be the best answer. I do care about Georgetown and, on May 21, 2009, was one of only 3 out of 1,000+ residents to plead before the New Albany City Council to not raise our rates.

In closing, if you trust the Town Board to operate this WWTP and serve you with honesty and openness and believe the Grant will actually benefit Georgetown, then please talk to your neighbors and call the Town Board requesting them to put this WWTP within 1,000 feet of your back door. The west-end residences and homeowners on Old Lanesville Road do not need to be the sacrificial lambs for this WWTP; especially since some of these homeowners are not in the city or on the sewers, and have no say in this matter.

— Steve Smith, Georgetown





Reader bothered with Janet Jackson’s comments



Tuesday’s article concerning Janet Jackson’s opinion that Michael Jackson’s doctor was responsible for his death hit a raw nerve. Am I the only one who still believes that each of us must assume responsibility for our own actions? Sure, Jackson’s doctor may have erred in the administration of Jackson’s drug cocktail, but isn’t it Jackson himself who was ultimately responsible?

He sought the drugs and hired the doctors to administer them for many, many years, knowing that this practice was dangerous at best, and criminal at worst. How about Janet, and Jackson’s manager and others in his entourage who turned a blind eye to what was going on. Don’t they share some responsibility, too?

In the past week, I’ve read of a woman who holds the casinos responsible for her huge gambling debts; of a man who says meth was responsible for him murdering someone; of an unmarried female soldier who blames the Army for forcing her to deploy and leave her infant behind; etc., etc., etc. In a country where many cherish their independence and freedom of choice, it’s a shame more people don’t feel a responsibility to own up to the consequences of their freedoms and choices.

— Dennis Feiock, New Albany