Dear Editor,

I have nothing against the fight over the landfill. I don’t live nearby and I don’t have family in this part of the county. But it still surprises me that some people don’t understand why people are upset about it.

Just read some of this stuff and then ask yourself if you want to live near it. And now, honestly, the company is really trying to sell us on the whole idea that the landfill doesn’t stink? I’ll say it again. They’re trying to tell me that a landfill doesn’t stink. I know what that kind of place is supposed to be. I’ve thrown a lot of bags in one myself. Sorry folks, but that dog doesn’t hunt. But back to my point. Originally, this landfill was supposed to get 5,000 tons of garbage a day. Not 5,000 tons total. Not 5,000 on the property. That’s how much was supposed to get in every day. And then with the recent change, they reduced that to 1,500 tons a day. That’s still a lot. They’re also letting residents know, hey, we’re being nice, we’re only letting 75 trucks drive down your street a day, starting at 6 a.m. Are you going to put up with that? My wife says I’m a slob in the morning before coffee, but I guarantee I’m dealing with truck after truck coming through in the wee hours of the morning and slob isn’t the right word for it. Who wants to deal with that?

Look, yes, Cumberland has its problems. We’re not even quite at the level of Farmville as far as business goes. But that doesn’t mean that we have to just bow down and say thank you when a company tries to enrich itself with a landfill here. I mean, is that really what you’re trying to tell people? ‘Yeah, one of our major sources of revenue for the county is garbage. Just ignore the smell, you get used to it.’ But you never do that. And you can never replace what’s taken away in a case like this. This is a county of farmers and people who like to live in a rural area. If you want to bring business here, if you want to make money here, do something that fits that mold.

Dennis Deems

Cumberland