To the Editor:

This is in response to the article in last week’s Presque Isle Advance regarding the Materials Management Plan. I have stressed to the county board that the county does not have the staff, the expertise, or the understanding to develop its own regional management plan. They went ahead anyway. The article speaks of the state’s overflowing landfills. While that may be a statewide issue, it certainly is not a problem here in N.E. Michigan. We have a municipally-owned facility in Montmorency County that is jointly owned by Montmorency, Oscoda, and Alpena counties with ample disposal capacity. They are moving forward with a materials recovery facility that will make the Emmet County place look like the ineffective joke it is. There was a time and maybe there still is for the opportunity for Presque Isle County to join the authority. Ms. Heidemann and former Chairman Whitsett were formally invited by the landfill board prior to Alpena County’s joining.

There is far more to solid waste management (materials management) than seeking grant money for a compost pile in Rogers City. When will (they) ever learn that Rogers City is not the center of the universe? That attitude is to the detriment of the good citizens who try to do right and live in balance with the environment.

WAYNE VERMILYA,

Allis Township