Old washers, dryers not an improvement

How often do you hear these words? "I think leaving bullet-ridden appliances and old tires in the wilderness enhances the experience of nature."

Oddly enough, given the amount of junk strewn through Douglas County, not that often.

And yet, the stuff continues to pile up in places like the Pine Nuts and the sand pits.

We don't know anyone who thinks this junk improves these places, but we know a lot of people who get angry when they see it.

We know a lot of people who work very hard to remove old cars, appliances, tires, used batteries and a variety of other material from the places they enjoy playing.

Those folks know that no matter how many times they clean up a spot, that six months later the abandoned washers and cars return like the swallows returning to Capistrano.

We like to say that the perpetrators are often caught and prosecuted, but that's not true. Dragging an appliance out into the wilderness is a lot cheaper than paying for the landfill to take it, especially if there's little risk of being caught. And if you get to put a few bullets in a disloyal washer, all the better.

Only a few people are dumping this stuff, but it doesn't take very many.

If you see someone dumping, report it immediately. If you find a fresh dump on your regular route, report that too.

Eventually there will be a enough documentation to catch up with some of these vandals and then they will have to pay for the free ride they've been taking at everyone else's expense.