Letters, March 4, 2015

2012 energy code is devastating

I was shocked and became physically ill when I read what was done. Hills?boro adopted the same code as Greensburg, the grandi?ose 2012 International Energy Efficiency Code to save energy and the planet.

This independent energy guideline code comes out every three years and its goal is to be more energy efficient every cycle. Of course adoption of this code costs lots and lots of money.

This makes Hillsboro the second most undesirable town in Kansas to start a business, second only to Greensburg. Greensburg easily adopted the extreme energy code as they had all their buildings wiped off the map.

Insurance companies, the state, the federal government and millions in donated dollars and hours of labor paid the bills in the reconstruction of a brand new environmentally friendly Greensburg.

Unfortunately, Hillsboro still has all its original old buildings and is getting more and more vacant ones all the time. Two more vacant big ones out on the highway. We just lost Radio Shack in town and it can be added to the half dozen or more others on Main Street alone that no one will buy because it costs more to meet the energy code than tear it down and build a new one.

On the bright side for some I guess, the more buildings that become vacant the less energy we use. That saves the city from having to buy just that much more energy and is one more step to a clean environment and saving the planet.

Even Wal-Mart was dismayed when they learned of our town?s adoption of this code. Wal-Mart is very generous to its communities, what future growth might have been dashed?

Some city council members think they were hoodwinked into accepting this new code. I agree. Some say they do not even remember voting for it.

However, in the meantime, Wal-Mart now knows, and at least two newspapers have printed that we have adopted this code. Hillsboro becomes more and more undesirable as the word spreads and everyone in the business world learns about our unfortunate decision.

I ask the city council to unadopt this code publicly and quickly.

By the way, as the city does not even know what was passed, they better look closely because this code also has a residential house section for homes, which could be just as draconian.

Stephen Stafford

Hillsboro

 

County needs to clear key roads

My name is Hadlye Shay Clark. I?m a sixth grader at Peabody Junior High/High School. I live on a black-top road that is between Burns and Peabody. This road is one of the main roads that school buses take to transport kids to school, not to mention high school kids who drive themselves to school and back every day.

It started snowing Feb. 27 on a Friday afternoon and ended Feb. 28 on a Saturday night. Sunday morning came, cloudy skies with no snow, sunshine by noon, and still no snow removal trucks.

Melting occurred in the afternoon, but still no snow removal. By 6 p.m. refreezing occurred, and still no county snow removal trucks had come.

As a young person, I wonder why our county doesn?t do a better job of keeping our roads clear. If I would have to work as a road clearer I would get out there and clear the roads.

If they don?t start clearing our roads properly, and one day it gets really slick with ice on the roads, a car could get out of control and spin into the ditch just because the county didn?t do anything to clear the roads.

I hope that after the county sees this they will do a better job at clearing our roads.

Hadlye Shay Clark

Peabody

More from Hillsboro Free Press
HES names winners for conservation poster contest
The winners of this year?s Conservation District poster contest at Hillsboro Elementary...
Read More