An open letter to Councilor Babine

I am writing to you after reading in local newspapers about a new program that is being considered for implementation in Scarborough. I understand you made a recommendation to the council this past Wednesday but the council minutes still have not been posted on the town website so I do not know what you said. Thus this letter to give you my side of the story:

I am totally opposed to this scheme. I viewed the presentation of Waste Zero on the Internet and I must say, it’s pretty slick, but not very accurate. Waste Zero exists to make a profit, despite all their flowery claims. And my experience has been that this sort of company is not interested in a 5 or 10 percent profit, typical of a manufacturer, but more in the range of 50 percent. Ask them about that if you get a chance.

Their claim that it is the “fairest” way to pay for waste is specious. If Scarborough wants to be “fair” to all taxpayers, please stop collecting taxes from me for schools. I have no school-age children.

What they cleverly call “pay per bag” is just another tax. It would increase my cost to live in Scarborough while delivering no measurable improvement in my life. I’m retired and living on a fixed income. Where am I supposed to find the money for a bag to throw trash away? What is wrong with the current system? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

I find Waste Zero’s claims of most people supporting such a scheme totally unreliable. Tell us how the questions for the poll were worded. Any poll can be dramatically skewed by the pollster and the way questions are asked.

The claims that there will be no illegal dumping are almost laughable. They quote the experiences of large metropolitan areas, (Worcester, Mass., seems to be a favorite source of denial), and try to say the outcome will be the same in Scarborough. I doubt that. Here in North Scarborough there are many, many places where trash is thrown away indiscriminately right now. There are bags of trash thrown away here on Running Hill Road from time to time, and R.H.R. is a busy road. Mainers are much poorer than other states. Two dollars a bag will incentivize people to try to dodge paying it, no doubt about it. And not just in the short term, it would be a continuing headache as long as the program lasted.

And, finally, there is the enforcement nightmare. Do you really want to view videos of people’s trash and make determinations as to its legality? Waste Zero is a private company and cannot make legal determinations. That would be up to our police department. Is it a good use of their time to be looking at the trash video from particular houses. Should they be driving out to a citizen’s house to issue them a ticket of some sort? Do we really want to criminalize disposal of trash? Can you see where issuing a ticket might go downhill real quick? I suggest you view Slide 33 again and think about the serious downside of this scheme. North Scarborough has quite a number of very independent people, people who just want to be left alone. Enforcement would be a major intrusion into their lives.

The current trash system is working wonderfully. Don’t screw it up. Don’t impose yet another tax.

Harry White

Scarborough

Note to readers

The following letters are written by non-native English speakers who are students in the Advanced Writing ESOL class at Southern Maine Community College.

These young men and women have worked hard to write these letters of opinion, hoping to persuade you; for all of them, it is their first experience with the idea of Freedom of the Press. Their assignment was to write a letter to the editor, something not ever done by many citizens. Please support them by taking a moment to read their thoughts and maybe write a reply.

You might also like to come to hear them tell their Sacred Stories on April 27 at South Portland City Hall at 3 p.m., completing their final project for the semester. I promise you will not regret this often life-changing experience.

Rosemarie De Angelis,

Adjunct Professor, SMCC

Eat less, exercise

More than two-thirds of America’s adults are overweight. Obesity is one of America’s biggest problems today. We need to inform our children that eating healthy is important.

Eating healthy is one thing that many don’t understand. Young adults would rather pay an extra dollar for an ice cream cone and chips than buy a healthy lunch. Fast food should be more expensive so that we would have to think twice before making that choice. People should vote to make healthy foods cheaper. In addition to the quality of food you consume, the quantity matters.

There is a lot of impact from eating unhealthy, like high blood pressure, diabetes and some cancer. We have to work together to make changes by motivating everyone to eat healthy. There are a lot of new organizations that support our citizens to improve the way they. Do not overeat, just eat enough to sustain your energy. Instead of eating a lot of meats, substitute fruits and vegetables. Spending more time exercising would be more beneficial than sitting at home.

Eating healthier foods and getting active throughout the day would be beneficial for everyone. Getting active doesn’t have to be going to the gym and sprinting on treadmills. Simply taking a nice 10- to 20-minute walk around the neighborhood is all a person needs to get their blood pumping. Getting the community involved with a healthier lifestyle would be beneficial for our nation.

Quentin Ndayishimiye

Burundi

Snow games are fun

Snow games are the best entertainment in winter. Usually kids and teenagers get ready for those games. Before each game teenagers and kids wear warm waterproof suits. Most the time, snow games are played with different rules throughout the world. The most popular snow games are, snowball fighting, sliding, building snowmen and snowboarding.

How can we enjoy the snow games? First of all, we should be prepared with warm suits, hat, gloves, scarves and boots with friction. We can invite our friends or family into games. After that we can start to have a lot of fun! After each game, drinking hot drinks is so tasteful. How much it looks beautiful when you spend one day to build a snowman or snowwoman with participating friends or family.

I would recommend that everyone wears proper clothes for snow games. That is most important. Keep yourselves as warm as you can. Instead of staying at the house, it’s good to go outside and participate in snow games with friends and family. Go walk around with your friends in the city with fresh air from the sky that brings the snow. When you feel bored you can go sliding with friends and family, especially snowboarding. I hope you all have great moments with snow games.

Ahmed Rasa

Afghanistan

Don’t judge

Never judge a book by its cover. Have you ever heard that saying? Most people judge others from the way they look without knowing them from inside or even talking to them. People are very judgmental in our society. They put every person into groups based on their looks, where they live, the color of their skin or maybe their religion. That is not fair, not fair at all.

Judging others is an everyday thing. We all do it and we all get judged. When you first meet someone do you automatically think that the person is nice or rude? It is a horrible habit for some of us.

Judging people is not good because when we judge them we count them different from us and treat them differently. We might misjudge people who are really nice instead of giving them a chance. I recommend that we all stop judging others and try to know them for who they are, not from the way they look.

The real beauty comes from inside, not outside.

Sarah Almukhtar

Iraq

Learn a language

Do you agree with me that language is extremely important in our life? It is not only communication of thoughts and ideas, but also it creates friendships, cultural ties and economic relationships.

There are many different languages in the world. Language helps us develop our society. You cannot communicate with each other without language. It opens many opportunities to cooperate in business and brings profits for nations. Therefore, if you only speak your mother tongue, you will not have any chance to develop.

In order to improve yourself, you have to enlarge your knowledge by getting information from the Internet, books, schools and teachers; you can also study abroad. It is difficult to integrate into the foreign community without speaking the common language of others. The best choice is English as the second language. Most people use it to connect to foreigners. All of us can exchange knowledge, information and culture easily by English. You can build new relationships, share emotion and love each other or enjoy entertainment through music, movies, and art.

In a word, language is a creation of each country. You use language to let others know how you feel, what you need and what you want. It helps you learn about everything. Language learning can really open new doors to you. You will adapt more easily to the new environment, make friendships faster and be better able to understand the habits and customs of that country. Strong language skills are an asset that can enhance your career. On top of that, knowing more languages will enrich your life and help you feel proud of yourself.

I recommend that you study more languages. Study with your foreign friends, on the Internet, or register for language class at your local community college. You won’t regret it.

Thuy Truong

Vietnam

Exercise daily

People have a hard time being active, especially exercising. Exercise is the most significant health activity you can do. You can build your muscles, have normal heart rates, burn fat, and increase your life expectancy.

I know you want to be healthy and strong. Some people do not care about their exercise, but they wish it were easier, so they can lose weight. Some also feel jealous when they see someone in good shape. Exercise is not an easy task. Nowadays, we are being challenged plus exploited to exercise. We also have cars, computers, phones, dishwashers, laundries, and do not physically farm anymore. All those are great inventions, but it took a lot of physical exercise away.

So as we are living life, we need to know the value of being physically healthy. We also want to make sure that we can find a way to squeeze our time and exercise, because exercise is important for our health. I suggest you exercise, because it makes you think clearly, sleep better, have a good body control and can improve your academic levels.

Victor Samuel Ali

South Sudan