Respect the MFD’s act of community service

     There’s a Letter to the Editor inside this week’s paper. It’s been shared via Facebook.

     The Monticello Fire Department is a big part of the reason the community has the most spectacular fireworks display every Fourth of July. Yes, the city council contributes $2,600 a year toward the fireworks, but if the MFD didn’t collect empty cans and bottles, the fireworks wouldn’t be what it is today.

     The MFD has established an enclosure next to the fire station where the public can drop off cans and bottles at their leisure. Each firefighter and his/her family have assisted in clearing the containers, boxes, and bags from the fenced-in area. They also clean the cans/bottles before turning them in for money.

     However, enough is enough, and now the MFD is addressing a major issue stemming from what’s dropped off.

     It seems it’s not just cans and bottles the public is leaving behind, but trash and garbage, too.

     It’s not the MFD’s job to dispose of your garbage. It’s putting our firefighters’ health at risk when they have to fish out such items as dirty diapers, cigarette butts, diabetic needles, and more.

     And while we’re at it, some of the cans and bottles being dropped off are not finding their way inside the enclosure, but set outside the fence. If you’re going to the trouble of driving to the fire station and dropping stuff off, it takes no additional effort to place them where they belong, inside the fence.

     If these issues persist, including trash with your cans/bottles and dumping items outside and around the fence line, the MFD could choose to stop accepting the public’s drinking receptacles. That means less money for Fourth of July fireworks. That means we’ll all have to find an alternative for our cans and bottles.

     We need to be respectful of the MFD’s mission in collecting these items. They don’t have to do this. They could easily give it up. They could easily tell you to take your “garbage” elsewhere.

     The community is lucky to have a fire department that does so much outside of its realm of duties and responsibilities. Not all fire departments take on the task of hosting a Fourth of July breakfast and fireworks. The holiday is a practically a full day for the firefighters because they also collect money for the MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) while walking the parade. They’re giving up a well-deserved holiday off work and they’re only volunteers.

     We are lucky to have an active fire department. Our firefighters are seen lending a hand in the community in more ways than one. Many of them work in the community. Their kids attend school here. They also want what’s best for Monticello.

     So keep all of this in mind the next time you drive up to the station with your empty cans and bottles.