Letters and comments for June 6, 2011

Unsightly mess

To the Editor:

Over Memorial Day weekend, we had the dubious honor of showing a guest around the Grande Ronde Valley.

In addition to the views, the pastures and meadows turned into lakes afloat with ducks, we observed a shameful amount of litter, much of it flushed to the surface by the overflowing streams.

In addition to all the beer and pop cans and plastic drink bottles, we saw a bloated bed pillow floating across the highway from Hot Lake Springs; burger stand bags full of cold french fries and other morsels attracting crows and magpies to the middle of roads; lidded coffee cups dipping in the breeze as they bobbed along the new little streams that run beside every road these days; and white plastic bags that appeared to be full of household trash.

It is high time for the city of La Grande and Union County to mount public education campaigns and volunteer programs to get this ugly and unnecessary problem under control. I read often in the paper about plans to draw visitors to this area. Any serious plan to attract tourists needs to address the unsightly mess people have made in this valley.

Linda Elegant

La Grande