Charles H. Bradley III: 'Rest of the story' about Laconia's trash removal history

To The Daily Sun,

I noticed a short article in the Sept. 5 Daily Sun, “City 50 Years Ago,” by Warren Huse that was a short story about the city looking into a “regional incinerator for trash.” Famous broadcaster Paul Harvey always added a prologue at the end of each of his stories where he would say, “and now you know the rest of the story”. So here is the “rest” of the story about how the city’s trash has been trucked out of the city for the last 50 years.

My wife and I had recently purchased a home on Lafayette Street. Shortly thereafter Laconia announced a plan to install a landfill in Ward 5 in an undeveloped, wooded, wet-land area to solve its trash disposal issue. That area bordered many Laconia residences, including our new home. Instead of a landfill, fortunately today Woodland Heights School and Lakes Business Park are located there.

As a young couple with a family and learning of Laconia’s plan, which would not only destroy this area of the city but probably the entire city as well, I reluctantly decided to run for city council to prevent this catastrophe and find an acceptable solution to the city’s waste disposal problem.

After much work, public vilification and numerous discussions with city staff, I was instrumental in convincing the council to move forward with a proposal that still works today. At the time there was an old incinerator located on a large parcel of land on Meredith Center Road, infamously called “Klinkerbell” because of its disastrous failure in the past. It would become the city’s “transfer station” for the collection and removal by truck of the city’s waste.

Now readers know “the rest of the story.” I could not be more proud of what was accomplished.

Charles H. Bradley

Laconia