After having attended the Sept. 5 public informational meeting and the Sept. 11 special Lewiston City Council meeting about the Casella Waste Systems Inc. proposal, I realized how fortunate we are to live in a community where our citizens will fight for what they believe.

After our city council voted against sending the Casella deal to referendum, members of the city council, city staff and the city’s Solid Waste Task Force were all thanked.

However, the individuals who helped organize the uphill battle against this disastrous proposal with Casella were not thanked. Citizens like Dan and Jo Ann Gregoire, Dave Peak, Betty Dube, former Lewiston Planning Director Jim Lysen and Rep. Elaine Makas, D-Lewiston, are owed a huge debt of gratitude, as are the hundreds of citizens who attended meetings and opposed this proposal. My political instincts say we would have had a different outcome if this strong public opposition had not arisen.

The local Don’t Dump On ME group are ordinary citizens who spent countless hours researching this issue, asking the tough questions, and went door-to-door informing their neighbors about the real truth of the Casella deal.

They deserve the most applause for a job well done!

Barry Putnam, Lewiston