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Ballinger flap a foul battleIt gives one an almost patriotic feeling to watch the green skiff drifting forlornly across the surface of Lake Ballinger, its soggy, hunched-over owner ready to crank up the skiff’s outboard motor and the chainsaw motor of the “cruise missile” in chase of the approaching enemy — the foul feathered creatures of the Pacific Northwest.Concerns over the world’s arms race quickly disappear when you recognize the need for modern ducknology to detect and deter the duck in its desire to discharge its daily dung.No matter that it will take a hundred years of fecal waste from those dastardly demons to match the ruinous effect from the thousands of gallons of human effluent pumped into Lake Ballinger during the past years.Years of promoting wildlife sensitivity in the classrooms aside; those mallards, Canadian geese, buffleheads, mergansers, wigeons, teals, grebes, sea gulls, rails, wood ducks and loons can be observed in their natural beauty in “somebody else’s back yard.”Laws establishing shooting- and hunting-free zones, combustion engine controls, wildlife sanctuaries, toxic waste abatement and residential lifestyles are set aside by the magnitude of this national emergency. Modern technology of shotguns hidden in golf bags, whistle-screeching firecrackers, motor-powered chase boats and a disregard of citizen complaints about sewage seepage from lake-edge sewer mains are the tools of this war against pollution.“Remember the Maine” cries are replaced by “we must stop the critter effluent into Lake Ballinger.” Rumors persist of a dinosaur-like Canadian goose that hides in the woods surrounding one end of Lake Ballinger. It is almost certain that “King Goo” discharged those huge “gobs” of island-floatig algae into the lake last fall. Heat-seeking SGMs (Surface to Goo Missiles) could be the next stage for our Industrial Critter Complex.—LettersThere are also rumors of a petition being circulated requesting similar equipment to destroy all the fish in the lake. It is estimated that the effluent from the lake’s population of perch, bass, trout and salmon (yes, some unpatriotic slob is raising salmon for release into Lake Ballinger) easily rivals and passes the damage done by those feathered critters.And horrors upon horrors there has been whispered talk of the ultimate weapon against all those critter-poopers; drain all the water out of Lake Ballinger and use it for a much needed Sno-King garbage landfill.That’ll teach those critters!Bob Boye EdmondsDoes single mom expect free ride?Re: your touching article (Dec. 3) about divorced mother Melonie Merrifield.I’m a recently divorced woman who was reading about Ms. Mer-rifield’s plight with sympathy. After all, my husband pays child support regularly.I have to work full time and I wondered why Ms. Merrifield is not doing the same. After all, if she had no children, would she expect to support herself working part time and “rummaging through garbage dumpsters?”My doubts about the validity of this whole story were aroused, however, when I saw that this so-called deadbeat ex-husband of hers is paying “a minimal $200 per child, plus half of day care.”No wonder she asked that he not be named in the story! “Ex-husband will not pay” sounds close to libel. She must be getting $500 or $600 a month from this guy, which sounds fair to me.I repeat my earlier question: How would she expect to support herself without the children? Does she expect some kind of free ride in life because she was once married?I will admit that the ages of her children — which aren’t mentioned — may have some bearing here. Are they infants?Finally, did it occur to anyone at The Enterprise to contact Ms. Merrifield’s ex-husband to get his side of the story? What kind of standards of journalistic fair play do you people subscribe to?Linda M. Hill QueensboroughEditor’s note: Merrifield says The Enterprise made a mistake when it reported she receives $200 a month for each child. Merrifield’s ex-husband actually is paying her $100 a month per child, she says.
Newspaper Details
Edmonds Enterprise
Edmonds, Washington, US
Wed, Dec 31, 1986
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Everett P.
OR, USA 16 Nov 2024
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Edmonds Enterprise
