Article Options

Perry County supports gun rights, discusses recycling

BY ADAM TESTA

Tuesday, October 2, 2007 11:29 AM CDT

PINCKNEYVILLE – Perry County joined about 40 other Illinois counties in voicing its support for the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment Tuesday.

Perry County Clerk Kevin Kern said the county board in Pike County, located in the western part of the state, is trying to convince 101 of Illinois’ 102 counties to pass a resolution supporting the amendment.

“It has no meaning other than they want it passed on to the governor and the legislature to say we don’t want any more gun laws,” Kern said.

In other business, a committee formed in April to determine the economic feasibility of building a recycling center at the Perry County landfill reported its findings Tuesday.

Jeff Ashauer, chair of the committee and the county’s economic developer, said the construction of a recycling facility would cost an initial $750,000 and an annual cost of $215,000. Revenue from resalable materials would generate about $189,000 in the best conditions, he said.

As an alternative, Ashauer suggested using a countywide collection system based off one used in Du Quoin. Under this system, recyclable collection sites are placed around town and in schools, and then collected materials are hauled to a recycling facility in Carbondale.

A countywide collection system would cost about $31,000 annually, Ashauer said. The county landfill is willing to contribute $20,000, and the board discussed alternatives to collect the other $11,000. Among the alternatives were asking participating municipalities to contribute funds and asking the landfill to increase their funding.