Elgin cutting back on what it should be cutting
May 23, 2012 2:58PM
Updated: July 2, 2012 10:12AM
Elgin is cutting back on what it should be cutting
On May 14, I left a message at Elgin City Hall regarding the dangerous situation at the northeast corner of Hillcrest Road and Big Timber Road. The weeds and grass are so high on that corner of the intersection that unless you drive a truck or SUV, you cannot see westbound traffic when turning east from Hillcrest onto Big Timber. Last summer the situation was exactly the same, and the city came out and mowed it promptly after I alerted them to the problem.
On May 21, I saw that nothing had been done, so I called the city again. This time I was connected to the parks department manager who told me that the city is no longer responsible “for mowing adjacent to private property,” and that the owners of the house next to that tree bank are now responsible. He said they were sent a letter from the city informing them of the change.
I do not know the owners of the house beside the tree bank, nor have I been able to get in touch with them, but I think it is ridiculous to expect them to mow what is not their property. Furthermore, the tree bank has a very sharp incline, and a private individual could not or should not even attempt to mow it. This is on city easement adjacent to a very busy highway; the city should never have stopped taking responsibility for mowing it. In essence, Elgin has now made one homeowner responsible for the safety of the entire Century Oaks neighborhood.
If Elgin cannot afford to mow this tree bank, then why could it afford on May 17 to replace every stop sign in Century Oaks? When I asked public works why this was done, I was told that it was to make the signs “uniform.” Who cares whether they’re uniform or not as long as they’re doing their job? Instead of the city replacing every stop sign, they should have been mowing the tree bank. If this isn’t resolved soon, and for the rest of the mowing season, someone is going to get killed while trying to turn left onto Big Timber.
In addition, the city hasn’t mowed the tall weeds on the south side of Big Timber across from the Hillcrest entrance to Century Oaks either. As far as I know, this tree bank is not adjacent to private property. If Elgin doesn’t mow next to private property, and it doesn’t mow what is not next to private property, where does it mow?
Barbara Harwood
Elgin
PETA turning up heat on meat as cookout fare
If you’re planning a Memorial Day cookout, the following news items may influence your decision about what to serve:
Research shows that eating lots of charred meat can raise your risk for pancreatic cancer by up to 60 percent. And eating well-done meat and grilled chicken and fish can double your risk for bladder cancer.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture just implemented new guidelines so that it can “act quicker” when it finds contaminated hamburger and ground beef and “minimize” the number of illnesses from an E. coli outbreak — not very reassuring to people who do become sick after eating contaminated meat.
Mad cow disease was recently discovered at a California dairy farm. Don’t worry, though — the saturated fat and cholesterol found in meat and dairy products poses a much bigger health threat.
The company that produces “pink slime” — the bright-pink ammonia-treated meat that’s added to ground beef — swears that it’s safe, even though scientists call it a “high-risk product.”
If these reports are less than comforting, try grilling mock meats or marinated vegetables. They not only taste great, they’re cholesterol-free, generally low in fat, and they don’t form harmful carcinogens. See www.PETA.org for more information and free vegan recipes and product suggestions.
Heather Moore
The PETA Foundation
Norfolk, VA
