Waterway agency is hard-working, needed

After reading the article in the Herald last week about dissolving the Fox Waterway Agency, I'd like to add my perspective to this (bad) idea.

We live directly across the street from the agency. In fact, I consider them my neighbors. I've never seen a harder working group of people.

If there is redundancy in their jobs, I am not seeing it. They are out there from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day overseeing the massive waterway that is the Chain and Fox River.

They are dredging daily, removing debris from the lake (like huge branches), coordinating and maintaining the buoy system, and cleaning up the lake in many other ways that you can't even imagine.

The Department of Natural Resources will not be able to maintain the Chain in this way. There are so many boaters and unfortunately with them, comes human-generated garbage. If the Waterway Agency wasn't maintaining this chain, it would be disgusting.

I don't think anyone wants to see Fox Lake, Antioch and the surrounding areas lose what little economy we have by eliminating the agency and all of the good they do on the Chain.

Why don't Ms. Morrison and Mr. Link plan a visit to the Chain in the spring and follow these hardworking men and women around the lakes and river, and then tell me we don't need them here? I'm sure they can find some other government agency that really is redundant to go after.

Rhonda Howard

Fox Lake