SIERRA VISTA, AZ -- Protesters who say Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe is doing nothing to stop illegal immigrants from dumping trash in Cochise County left a message at the congressman's office front door in Sierra Vista -- 22 bags of trash. Posted on 09/29/2003 12:35:07 PM PDT by Spiff
BY BILL HESS
Sierra Vista Herald/Review
SIERRA VISTA, AZ -- Protesters who say Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe is doing nothing to stop illegal immigrants from dumping trash in Cochise County left a message at the congressman's office front door in Sierra Vista -- 22 bags of trash.
This morning, Bernadette Polley, Kolbe's Sierra Vista office manager, saw the trash for the first time, although she knew about the incident Sunday night.
It was a political message because of Kolbe's desire to find new ways to address the illegal immigrant problems, Polley said.
The trash was removed from the front door by Sierra Vista workers before 8 a.m. today so Polley and Shay Saucedo, who also works for Kolbe, could enter the office. There is only one door to the office, at which the trash bags were piled more than three feet high.
The bags were left late Saturday night, and by this morning, the odors coming from the containers were ripe and pungent. The bags included plastic water bottles, clothing, shoes, feminine hygiene products and used food cans.
The protesters wrote messages on an unfilled Cochise County UDA Cleanup trash bag that had been taped to the outside of an office window.
"We are still being invaded! Here is some proof," one message stated with a frowning face drawn on the bag.
Other comments on the bag, that are given by the county to people interested in cleaning up illegal immigrant sites, said: "From a grandma to you," "From a Tucsonan and advid (sic) hunter" and "From a father to you."
Another message on a piece of cardboard was more direct with a message to Kolbe. It stated, "Mr. Kolbe It is your duty to uphold the constitution. Close our borders. Protect U.S. citizens and our environment." There was an arrow drawn to the word constitution.
Kolbe disagrees that he is doing nothing to address trashing of the environment by illegal immigrants. He also said the bill introduced in the House of Representatives by him and Arizona Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake and Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain in the Senate will help reduce the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border into the United States from Mexico.
"I am just as concerned about the serious amount of trash left behind by illegal immigrants crossing the Arizona-Mexico border, and I believe that the temporary worker bill that I have introduced is a new way of solving the problems that come with illegal immigration," Kolbe said in a statement released by his Washington, D.C., office this morning.
Saying he has obtained federal funds to help cleanup the environment in Arizona, Kolbe said he "will see to it that there will be more money."
He said he has obtained nearly $2 million specifically earmarked for environmental cleanup in Southern Arizona.
Kolbe has had a number of town hall meetings in Cochise County pushing the proposed guest worker bill and support from people who live in the county has been small. Even his brother Walter Kolbe is against the proposed bill.
Sunday night a Sierra Vista police officer, who asked not to be identified, said he knows leaving the bags of trash was an anti-Kolbe message. Initially, the officer saw the scene as a site of illegal dumping.
He thought it was strange that the protesters picked up trash illegally dumped by immigrants and then the protesters illegally dumped the trash at Kolbe's office.
Again, if you would learn to read you will see that I didn't actually place the garbage at the RINO's office.
I guess to you the perpetrators of the Boston Tea Party were also hypocrites.
Anyway, this was not "illegal". It was an after hours delivery to the Congressman. No one was there, so the packages were left for his office staff to retrieve later. Would it have been more to your liking if the trash was instead packaged in boxes with FedEx labels?
In the case of Rep. Kolbe, it is because the primary issue most of his constituents are concerned with is whether they can continue to leech off of my paycheck and your paycheck with Social Security and Medicare. Yes, Kolbe gets pounded at his Town Halls over the border issue. But it is the viagra-popping retired RV-driving seniors living in gated communities around here that keep re-electing him. The border issue is but a distraction to Kolbe in his drive to appease the dependent class that he's created.
Actually, it was somewhat of a hot-button issue with the entry of Jim Behnke into the primary race against Kolbe. However, Social Security, Medicare, and incumbancy beat him our.
Get him voted out of office.
Freepmail me if you wish to be removed from or added to this list!
PRND21 was right. Vote him out of office.
But it isn't that easy. We have to:
Please realize that I say this as a concerned observer, not a participant or supporter of illegal activity.
It wasn't illegal. If the garbage had been dumped from the bags, then someone might make that case. Instead, this was an afterhours delivery of packages from Kolbe's constituents meant to demonstrate their frustration over Kolbe's border views.
STOP THE INVASION !!!
Hopefully, this is the beginning of a movement!
Run somebody against him in the Primary!
Start in on Kolbe.
Buy a clue Kolbe, these half measures that really are not even half measures and in no way pose any solution to the problem are just not going to wash anymore. That smell in your nostrils is a lit fuse.
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