Letters to the Editor published in the Jan. 24, 2024 issue of the Tomahawk Leader.
Questions on why this site was chosen
I live in the township of Cassian approximately ½ mile from the proposed site of GLITC Rehab and recovery center. I as well as many of the residents have lots of questions on why this site was chosen.
My concerns are what will happen to our water quality and whether our wells will dry up from the amount of water this site will use per day. They are expecting to use Approximately 5,800 gallons per day. How much waste water will be leaked into the ground and effect the drinking water quality and what will this do to the nearby river system.
What about our roads, the roads are not set up for heavy traffic, who will pay for the upkeep? This will be a burden on the township and the taxpayers. We did not ask for this facility in our township and we should not have to pay for this. I realize that we already paid for this facility through the grants they received but we should not have to have our taxes raised because of this.
What will happen if a fire breaks out? The area has all volunteer fireman that all work normal jobs. It will take at least half an hour for anyone of them to get there. For example, look what happened on Hwy. Y in the township of Little Rice Jan. 8. Multiple departments were called in and the structure was a total loss. What will happen to this Facility if a fire breaks out. Who will stop this from turning into a forest fire? There are a lot of pine trees in the area and lots of dry needle to keep a fire going.
Why do they need 289 acres? GLITC states they need the land to teach the kids how to hunt and fish. I would have figured that if the kids were into hunting and fishing, they would already know all this. Why would there be any weapons on hand? This could turn into a big problem. I do not trust anyone with mental or drug addiction to handle any weapon. What will happen along the river that runs along this land. This river is used for recreational purpose. There is many kayakers and canoeist that use this. Will this river be used to smuggle drugs into the facility? With no security how will they stop this from happening? GLITC has more planned then what they are telling us.
Please take a good look at all the possibilities that could happen and deny this from going through.
Thank you,
Shawn Steines
Town of Cassian
Trusting your community to think for themselves
I am writing to commend your newspaper for presenting the news from an unbiased viewpoint.
Your articles are fact-driven and presented without editorial comment. Your readers are allowed to draw their own conclusions based upon their knowledge, experience and their own biases.
Thank you for trusting your community to think for themselves.
Jim Boerke
Hazelhurst