Letters: Anti-anything groups are a great drain on the public

I am fed up with all the varied self-appointed, non-elected, do-gooder groups supposedly representing the community. They determine on their own that there is a problem with absolutely no input from anyone but their own special interest group. Have your free speech, but you are stepping over the line when you cost me money to support your warped views.

One of the greatest drains on the public are the environmental and anti-growth, anti-anything groups.

Our schools are in desperate straits due to the almost non-existent timber payments and the lack of good wage jobs in the defunct logging industry put out of business by environmentalists. Now there are increased fire-suppression costs due to lack of logging keeping the forests in a manageable state.

The anti-Wal-Mart crowd is also costing us. How much has Wal-Mart and the taxpayers spent so far for the environmental impact study, the planning department's review of this, the public hearings and legal costs? I am sure that before it's over there will be a court case with even more costs. We pay in taxes and increased costs of buying goods due to their actions.

What about the homeless advocates? It seems their catering and feeding of them is drawing more and more to the detriment of all. Recently I saw eight begging on street corners on just one trip through town. A few of them are so prevalent that they have their own spot reserved. Your tax money spent on tourism promotion is more than negated by the poor image of panhandling on every street corner.

The "Community Watch Dogs" are harassing the local police. If they are so sure the police have overstepped their authority, present their facts to the proper elected officials and work with, instead of against them to solve the problem. All you have done so far is unjustifiably stir up the community and cost you and me tax money for increased security at the courthouse because of protests, and expenditures by the police defending themselves from unwarranted charges.

We, the unorganized majority, should take it on ourselves and express our free speech rights. Write letters and speak up in civic meetings to counter their private agendas. This appears to have worked on the Friends of Del Norte, which has lost most of its credibility due to public uprising.

James Wisbauer

Crescent City