Trash Fee Small Price To Pay To Help The Needy Published on: July 13, 2003 I was very disappointed to read that some of our city council members believe that cutting funding for charitable agencies and social programs is preferable to a $2 a month trash fee. I guess I cannot fault them totally since they are probably reflecting the attitudes of many of their constituents who feel that taking $24 a year out of their pockets is a worse fate than losing programs that help the poor and disadvantaged. I am on the board of the Yuma County Youth Boxing Association, one of the non-profits marked for death by Councilwoman Ema Lea Shoop. This organization has survived for almost four years through the efforts of a small dedicated group of people who have donated their time, skills and money to help boys and girls who would rather spend a few hours a day in the boxing gym than on the streets. Support from their parents has been mostly non-existent. It costs $32 a year to enroll a youngster in U.S.A. Boxing, but we pay for all who do not have the ability to help themselves. Our effort to involve parents as volunteers has been largely futile. It would seem to me that $2 a month is a small price to pay to help a child find a positive influence in his or her life. WAYNE CHIAVACCI, M.D. Yuma © Copyright 2003 YumaSun.com