Musk thistle problem

Dear Editor,

Red Willow County has a definite problem with musk thistles and it is evident the Red Willow County weed department is doing nothing about it. All one has to do is drive about 6 to 10 miles south of the west river bridge and you can see the world's supply of musk thistles.

Four weeks ago today, I called the county weed department regarding these thistles and to date nothing has been done to eradicate them.

They have now gone to seed and will cause neighboring farmers grief only because the county weed department did not insist the landowners do something about it.

Incidentally, there are a lot of musk thistles growing in the county road ditch, which I would assume are the county's direct responsibility.

This problem area is not a new one, as when I called the weed department about the problem, they already knew which farmers were proverbial violators and mentioned them by name.

Still nothing has been done to correct it. The county and these farmers must be part of the "Good Old Boys" network. It is time to make some changes in the weed department. The musk thistle problem in Red Willow County did not occur overnight but is a result of a prolonged lackadaisical approach to the problem. Last weekend, as we returned from Fairbury, we observed very few musk thistles along the roads and in pastures until we reached Red Willow County. It is evident Red Willow County does not have a plan to control Musk Thistles. The "award" the county weed department received from the state last year for controlling weeds must have been meant as a joke, as I see plentiful evidence to the contrary.

We need a weed department that aggressively follows the mission of controlling roadside and noxious weeds in the county, not a department that spends money just going through the motions.

Jim Wesch

McCook