To the editor:

The slurry seal on Marion County Lake’s Lakeshore Drive was a fantasy to compensate for poor workmanship and a waste of taxpayers’ money by the thousands. No holes were filled, no sweeping preparation. The slurry was laid down over debris and existing potholes.

Common sense says that doesn’t work — and it didn’t. The slurry was so thin it didn’t even cover in many spots. The chalk-like rock overlay was a huge dust problem. The integrity of work ethics was completely ignored. All those involved should have to amend the entire project.

The latest county road project ended in pulverization of parts of Lakeshore Drive and 170th Road. In a green planet generation where we try to avoid harm to the planet, the commissioners approved destroying all the trees and shrubs on the south side of the roads. Decades of nature’s growth of the designated state tree was abysmally bypassed. Perfectly healthy trees are now gone while bare ugly stumps at ground level testify to their once magnificent glory. Bald eagles have used them as perches. The colorful Baltimore orioles had many of their crafty hanging nests built in them; I had counted five in one tree, testifying to constant usage. When walking around the lake, people appreciated the shade provided by these many resplendent Cottonwood trees. You could hear a mockingbird singing from the uppermost branch in the spring. I am appalled at the total devastation of wildlife habitat.

The heavy machinery used also tore up several square feet of roads in many areas. The soil, pulverized as it is, will now wash down and pollute the water flowing into the Marion County Lake. I am very disillusioned with any person that had an intrinsic hand in these thoughtless unprofessional decisions. The trees and shrubs are now in huge burn piles, or ashes, at a time when the state is considering the pollution caused by burning pastures. Why not offer it for firewood and benefit someone?

What’s wrong with this picture?

Shirley Moore
Marion