The 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the rights of the people to be secure in their effects and states that this right shall not be violated. This was ratified in 1789. Now we are told by The Herald that in Snohomish County, a contractor who takes debris (his effects) and hauls it in his own lawful vehicle, upon which he or she pays federal, state and local taxes, not to mention astronomical fuel tax, has no authority to dispose of these effects as he or she wishes?! (Monday article, “County fights illegal trash exports.”)

At which point does Snohomish County deem this material to be the property of the government and no longer the property of the owner? Isn’t this known as communism? At which point will the county decide to expand the confiscation beyond truckers? Do you think this doesn’t concern you? It soon might! The county extorts an exorbitant tipping fee, then hauls it to Eastern Washington for disposal at the lower rates, pocketing the difference. Why does a private citizen not retain the same right to haul his private property in his private vehicle to a private dump site, such as Weyerhauser’s, if he so chooses?

Our construction firm has always hired Waste Management for disposal, so we were not aware of this blatant violation of constitutional rights. This is an outrage and should make every citizen wake up and take note of how easily a government can seize private property. Not to mention that a deputy following a private truck from Snohomish County to Castle Rock is a waste of our tax dollars. Didn’t he have anything better to do?

Mary Ann Monty

RAMO Construction

Arlington