Dear Editor:
I would like to inform my fellow Mapleton citizens that, in spite of what it may look like, a hostile army did not bivouac in front of my house.
No, rather, the township has obviously adopted a “take-no-prisoners” approach to routine ditch maintenance. Much to my surprise, the very large piece of earth-moving equipment that I thought was merely clearing the muck out of the bottom of the ditch by the road was actually bending, stripping, pushing, breaking – simply mauling – the shrubs and trees that were growing on the top of the ditch.
The aftermath reminds me of a hurricane I lived through in my distant youth – broken branches, whole trunks of trees lying on my lawn, shredded bark littering the ground.
For a paranoid moment I thought the township had singled my residence out for exclusive treatment, but the next day the heavy equipment was back, proceeding up the road to my neighbour’s, wreaking the same havoc.
Now, for the life of me, I cannot fathom the rationale behind this exercise in destruction.
The plants were not growing in the ditch; in fact, they were barely overhanging the ditch. Any leaves they shed are washed downstream in the spring flood.
So why on earth use a cannon to kill a fly?
I hope someone from the township will take the time to explain how and why this policy was adopted, and I hope that, in the future, the township will consult the residents before it undertakes such wholesale slaughter.
Richard F. Giles
RR 1, Alma