No plastic bag ban

I’d like to take this opportunity to voice my opposition to this proposed new ban on plastic bags, a potentially business destroying/burdensome legislation based upon false beliefs, fear mongering, and politically/ environmentally correct posturing.

Producing a paper bag includes costs of production, storage, potential health hazards, and increased potential for pests, which consume the glue. We once eradicated bedbugs in America and now we have an epidemic. With good intentions we attempted to control pain and now we have an opioid epidemic. Cloth bags harbor bacteria that can be harmful to the consumer, which require washing/drying necessitating that water must be found, pumped, processed/disposed of, electricity produced/transported, laundry detergent produced, shipped, stored, consumed/disposed of etc. It shifts the infrastructure costs/burden from landfills to waste water treatment facilities.

With this legislation we are looking at taking steps backward trying to be politically/ environmentally correct. If the landfill has tons of plastic bags compacted and bundled, why not recycle them? Remember your own motto – REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCE.

How do you reuse these plastic bags?

Let’s take a rational look at the amount of plastics we use in our daily lives and the impact they have on our economy/ environment. What’s in your board room right now? Chairs, computers, carpets, desks, window coverings, cell phones, snacks packaging, coffee container, cups/maker, even the automobile you used to get to this meeting.

Why are we not requiring milk be sold in glass contain- ers?

Is this truly what we elected you for? To be fussing over plastic bags or should you be truly dealing with what is important to the taxpayers/businesses/residents of Madison Co., i.e. lowering taxes/regulations etc.

Currently Madison County has fewer businesses than it ever had, very little employment opportunities, with extremely low paying jobs. These salaries don’t even allow a family of four to live a lower-middle class life style let alone purchase a home. The board’s performance over the past 40-plus years has fueled and helped to create this current condition. 1) Far too much regulation. 2) High taxes/fees with few services.

3) Non-friendly and even a hostile businesses environment.

4) The inability of the board to truly promote worthwhile legislation.

5) Inability to attract/promote a business/residential friendly county.

6) Studying other successful communities throughout the US. How they attract business/ residents, plus deliver those services effectively.

7) These other communities/states are growing while Madison County and NYS are shrinking.

Residents who live close enough to the county’s borders might be forced to do business in an adjoining county due to increased costs passed on to the consumer caused by this ban. This will reduce our sales tax revenue, traffic/profits, at these retail businesses, , causing businesses to reconsider their continued operation/jobs in Madison County.

It’s amazing what a small plastic bag ban can truly do to the economy in any community.

Harold Stevens, Eaton Vote Grover for VVS board

On May 16 the voters of the VVS District will fill three open school board seats. Only two candidates have petitioned for these seats, necessitating a write-in candidacy. I would appreciate your consideration for this position.

I strongly believe in the mission of VVS to prepare the students of our community to seize opportunities for growth, overcome adversity, value diversity, and embrace civic duty. I support the district in its aspiration to be a district of distinction, including the innovation and improvements in student outcomes required for that recognition. As a member of the Le Moyne College Board of Regents, I have focused on developing relationships between the college and the community. As a Regent I have worked to facilitate career readiness through internship development and job shadowing opportunities. I believe that college and career readiness begin with a solid educational foundation. This educational foundation is built on a working relationship between the school board, the community they represent, and the administration of the school. If elected, I would strive to maintain a positive collaboration that allows for change and forward mobility in our schools.

As a resident of Sherrill, with children in the district, I have witnessed firsthand the opportunities that VVS offers our students and families. The current school board is supportive of the many diverse learning opportunities available to our students. Our district has maintained the ability to offer programs in the arts and sciences, agriculture, and athletics while remaining fiscally responsible to the taxpayers. The balance between the two must remain.

Thank you for your consideration as a write-in candidate for the VVS School Board on May 16.

David Grover, Sherrill