Satisfied RUSS customer

February 23, 2012

Kinross, Iowa

To the Editor:

I have been a RUSS customer for almost five years. I have never had any problems with the way they manage the sanitary system in my little town. I am thankful that we have such a system in place. It was not many years ago that I lived in rural Washington County and the septic system for that residence had an outlet pipe draining directly into a small creek not far from the house ? GROSS. When RUSS put in the system in our town, there was no cost to hook up and the monthly fee is based on our water usage. You may ask yourself, how could the hookup have been for free? When RUSS does a project like that or the one proposed in Richmond, they secure grant money instead of having the home owners pay for the cost of the system. Richmond residents will not pay for this system because of the hard work RUSS directors have done in securing the needed grant money. Does that sound like someone who is NOT trying to help? The root reason for RUSS getting involved in Richmond is due to the DNR telling Washington County that something has to be done. Washington County in turn had to act. In order to make a plan for Richmond, one that would service long term, engineers needed to be called in. If I am not mistaken, the permits that were signed by those who built their houses in Richmond had a clause in it pertaining to this situation. It stated that the home owner agrees to let systems like this come in if there is a need for them. So to me that means you have already agreed to what is going to happen, right?

I understand that some home owners may raise the issue that their system is not very old, which is a valid point. However, 20 years down the road, it will not be a new system. Do you want to pay a huge sum of money to replace it then, or would you rather get a system for free that you will never need to worry about? Others may question the need for a lagoon system. Lagoons are not the most attractive thing and can take up a lot of space. How many other things do we do that are not attractive?

When I read the letter that referenced serving two gods, it sounded like the Pharisees who tried to convince the people that they always played by the rules. Mr. Rich is seen the most, but that does not mean he has a target on his back. Everyone involved in this situation is supposed to be an adult. Why not stop the accusations and name-calling and try to find common ground. It pains me to see people who used to be friends so mad at each other that they lose their Christianity over it.

Crystal Gingerich