David Hoke mistakenly interprets the landfill problems in Rutherford County as a partisan issue. I plead guilty of being a Democrat, and proudly admit that my husband is a past chair of the Rutherford County Democratic Party. However, I was delighted that our Republican representatives seemed to pick up the ball on radioactive waste in the landfills of Tennessee and seemed to want to do something about preventing this dumping from occurring in the future. After all, an issue that affects the public health and the safety of our children should be of concern to us all, regardless of political party, should it not?

If they had followed through, if they had made a wholehearted effort to help the county and the state solve this problem, I would not be actively campaigning against them now. I might not have voted for them, but I certainly would not be writing letters opposing them.

But I was taken in. I was fooled by Jim Tracy and Donna Rowland, who drew up the paperwork, pretending they were trying to get legislation passed to prohibit the future dumping of radioactive waste (thus preventing anyone else from introducing such a bill), and then they sat on it. They did not work to win the support of other members of the legislature. Instead, they waited until the very last minute to get onto the calendar, and then, without protest, they cooperated with the environmental committees to send their bills to the quiet grave of study committees.

If you want to see how bravely Mr. Tracy “fought for a bill his constituents wanted,” don’t take the word of a Democrat. Go to the Web site of the Tennessee Legislature, click Senate, click Streaming Video, and select Environmental Committee for April 9. Thirteen minutes into the video, you will see Mr. Tracy’s bold defense of his bill. You will hear him say repeatedly, “I am at the pleasure of this committee.”

If Mr. Tracy lived in Rutherford County and had to drink water from the Stones River, maybe he would have made a greater effort.

Kathleen Ferris
Murfreesboro