Dear Editor:
I was recently visiting Summerland, walking up Jubilee between the High school and Middle school, enjoying the sight of the kids playing outside in P.E. Suddenly I noticed the smell. Weed killer.
Remembering from my teaching career that weed killers are not allowed on school playgrounds, I looked for the source, and discovered the curled and warped dandelions stalks covering the grasses on the city boulevard, close to both playground fences.
Think about what you are doing, council. You are spraying weed killer within breathing distance of two large schools, covering the boulevards with it where summer sandaled people, barefoot kids and pets will be tempted to walk, and creating a run off situation into the storm drains that empty their contents eventually into the lake. Water runs downhill.
How short sighted just for the sake of a perfect seeming lawn.
Think about your potential position in this situation, choosing to do nothing about this antiquated and toxic practice.
You have nice grass. Choosing to eradicate weed killer and other such quick fixes from your arsenal of lawn products, you stand to become a leader in the development of respected green communities.
The choice is yours but if they had a say, I know what the kids, your future voters, would say.
Sue Skidmore
Hedley