March 2, 2011

To the Editor:

As I walked to my polling place to vote today, a distance from Jackson to Benton Blvd., it struck me that our neighbors here in the Northeast need to learn a pretty simple life lesson.  People, PICK UP YOUR TRASH!

It appears to me that about 75% of us either, a). are total slobs and a disgrace to our neighbors, b). never learned to pick up after themselves and are content to live in squalor, c). are rude and disrespective in that they throw their trash out on someone else’s property or back alley. Some of these streets in the Northeast look like a third world country.

People, this is a total disgrace and we should be ashamed of ourselves for putting up with this in our local neighborhood. How can we expect anyone in government to pay attention to our local needs if we do not have the basic self respect to keep our own houses/property neat and cleaned up?

I care not if you are an owner or a renter, just be a decent neighbor. And if you are a landlord, you have double responsibility to make certain the property you own is maintained and does not become a disgrace to the next person.

Open your eyes folks, this is not something that takes a great deal of effort. Only a little bit of personal pride is the cost to keeping our part of the city clean.

Thank you,

Richard Plackemeier
Kansas City, MO