The Ladies of the
Lake will next meet en masse for lunch at noon, May 30, at President
Ginny Lamont's home, located up the first driveway on the lane into
Hotel Tilawa. With Suzi Butterfield's minutes now going out to over
60 women, the organization has blossomed in the two years since its
founding by Christina Glass and Laura Murray as a social group with
intentions of doing good works. Laura hosted the first luncheon, providing
the full meal for 17 people, and Christina did the same for the second
monthly meeting. To relieve the burden on individual hostesses, a
potluck format was soon adopted and continues. The philanthropic activities
have also blossomed, Suzi's latest minutes revealing discussion of
the dangerous playground equipment in Sabalito, the deplorable state
of the lavatories and kitchen of the Nuevo Arenal school, and the
opening tomorrow, May 19, of the children's library in Tilaran, on
which Leslie Woods and others of the group have done much work.
Tilaran's Mayor Jovel Arias and the Municipal Council now know for
sure that they are expected to do something about two long-neglected
environmental problems after presentations by Fuentes Verdes and others
on May 2 in the council chambers. Handing the council petitions containing
over 400 signatures, Fuentes Verdes Secretary Sandy Shaw explained
the extent and history of the garbage dump and recycling problems
and exhorted the officials to meet their obligations. Although there
has been much turnover in council members in the last seven years,
and some of the current ones, amazingly enough, had never seen the
dump nor had any idea that problems existed, Arias has been mayor
the whole time that the municipality was supposed to fix the problem.
According to what Fuentes Verdes has learned, the dump is sitting
atop a large aquifer and there are visible springs, which are used
by the trash pickers for |
washing, cooking,
and drinking. Seepage from the dump empties into the stream Quebrada
Cabra, then to the Rio Santa Rosa, which flows past Tilaran and on
to the Rio Coribici, which supplies the Southern Canal that carries
water for lowland crop irrigation and fish farming near Canas.
Also trying to light a fire
under the council, rancher Carlos Vargas, a neighbor of the dump,
spoke eloquently about the horrendous conditions there, and Lic.
Eddie Alvarado, a former district attorney of Grecia and an environmental
law specialist, pointed out the laws that the municipality has been
breaking.
According to Mayor Arias, the
city officials are continuing to meet with other municipalities
to find a location for a common sanitary landfill, and they have
established a budget for emergency measures which could include
moving dirt to cover garbage and spraying insecticide to kill flies,
though these of course are not so readily evident as the dogs and
many vultures. The municipality also has plans to help volunteer
recycler Edgar Badilla, who has run the rudimentary program for
three years, but building plans are still on the municipal architect's
desk, according to what Fuentes Verdes has been told. Arias asked
that Fuentes Verdes help find solutions these problems. But the
problem may not wait long for a solution. The Ministry of Health
has for years been threatening to shut down the dump at the first
complaint. A half page article two weeks ago in La Nacion, a Spanish
language daily newspaper, could be reason for the Ministry to act
as could the recent uproar.
Fuentes Verdes President Ed
Yurica also urged the council to control new construction to assure
that builders are installing a second septic tank and drain field
for gray water as required by law.
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