I have nothing against the Cumberland Landfill controversy. I don’t live nearby and I don’t have family in that part of the county. But I’m still surprised that some people don’t seem to understand why people are upset about it.

Just read some of this stuff and then ask yourself if you want to live near a landfill like that. And honestly, is the company really trying to sell us the whole idea that the landfill doesn’t stink? I’ll say it again. They’re trying to tell me that a landfill doesn’t stink. I know what goes into a landfill like that. I’ve thrown a lot of bags into one myself. Sorry folks, but this dog doesn’t hunt.

But back to my point. The Cumberland landfill was originally designed to handle 5,000 tons of garbage a day. Not 5,000 tons total. Not 5,000 tons on site. Every day, that’s how much would be generated. And with the recent change, they’ve reduced that to 1,500 tons a day. That’s still a lot. They’ve also let residents know that we’re being nice and we’re only allowing 75 trucks a day down your street, starting at 6 a.m. Do you want to deal with that? My wife says I’m a grumpy person in the mornings before coffee, but I guarantee when I’m dealing with truck after truck in the wee hours, grumpy isn’t the right word for it. Who wants to deal with that?

Look, yes, Cumberland has its problems. We’re not even quite at the level of Farmville as far as business goes. But that doesn’t mean that we have to just bow down and say thank you when a company tries to enrich itself with a landfill here. I mean, is that really what you’re trying to tell people? ‘Yeah, one of our major sources of revenue for the county is garbage. Just ignore the smell, you get used to it.’ But you never do that. And you can never replace what’s taken away in a case like this. This is a county of farmers and people who like to live in a rural area. If you want to bring business here, if you want to make money here, do something that fits that mold.

Dennis Deems

Cumberland