Smokers, please use the all-weather butt receptacles placed downtown

To The Daily Sun,

No butts about it. Well maybe not no butts, but hopefully far fewer. I don’t smoke cigarettes. I cured myself of that habit one sunny summer day when I was about 11 years old when my pal Jimmy Morris and I got hold of a pack and proceeded to chain smoke about five or six each till we were both green in the gills. I got so sick that to this day, just the thought of tobacco in my bloodstream makes me a little queasy.

I am not faulting smokers, I’m just not a fan, but I do wish there were fewer butts scattered about Laconia’s sidewalks, and grassy areas. So, instead of complaining about it, I would like to offer a solution. There are many trash and recycle cans placed around on our downtown sidewalks and common areas. But very few butt receptacles. There are a few here and there placed by business owners in front of their shops, but they are few and far between.

I recently circulated a request for downtown merchants to consider pitching in to buy some of these receptacles, and we have had enough of a response to purchase three all-weather cans that are currently placed adjacent to the city parking lot south of the Congregational church, where the Thursday Farmer’s Market takes place. Kevin Dunleavy from Parks and Recreation is all for this idea. It is a start, and I hope for you smokers out there, you consider using them if you are in that area. My hope is to have about eight or 10 of these cans sprinkled around the downtown area.

If you are interested in joining this effort in any way, please go to most any downtown merchant and they will have my information so you can contact me. For now, I would like to say thanks to the folks at One Mill Plaza Inc. and Polished and Proper Barber Shop for your contributions. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em…..and then toss ‘em in the can. Thanks.

Pat Furr

Laconia