One of the rules of thumb I have followed during my nearly 37 years writing for newspapers was to learn beyond the obvious about the communities I covered on my professional journey.
My career ended a dozen years ago, but my quest for knowledge about communities hasn’t let up. For example, I am freelancing for a group of weekly newspapers in Collin County, Texas. I have learned that one of the communities I cover, Sachse, is going to come to grips with whether to regulate “donation bins.” I won’t get ahead of myself here.
I am a bit baffled to learn that many communities do not have any ordinances on the books to regulate these bins. You know what I’m talking about, yes. These are bins set up for people to toss clothing, shoes and assorted soft goods to be picked up. Some communities have ordinances to govern them. They limit them at various locales, require certain distances between them, ban them from property next to schools.
Sachse doesn’t have an ordinance regulating donation bins. I don’t know if the city council will adopt such an ordinance. I will find out Monday when I attend a council meeting; the issue is on the agenda.
What have I learned about some of these North Texas communities? Many of them haven’t yet enacted municipal rules governing placement and use of these donation bins. They can become serious eyesores.
The stricter the rules, and stricter consequences for failing to obey them, the better.