When I read the story about Saco’s problem with newspaper litter, I had to check my calendar. I wrote a letter to the Courier about the very same topic roughly 20 years ago, so to say it’s a perennial problem is an understatement.

The offending newspapers are quick to hide behind their First Amendment rights, and I would agree, they absolutely have the right to express themselves, but not at the expense of violating littering laws. It’s one thing to have driveway deliveries when the intended recipient is a subscriber, and another thing entirely to toss newspapers on every driveway in the city in the hopes that someone will pick them up.

Quite obviously in many cases, that does not happen, so in essence, they are no different than any other litter, and I believe it’s the company’s responsibility to remove it. Quite frankly, I don’t believe four employees are working three days a week picking up unwanted newspapers. If they did, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.

Councilor Cote had the best solution when he urged newspaper companies to work more closely with residents to make sure papers are only delivered to homes where they are wanted, but it would be more work for the companies with maintaining subscriber lists, the same they do as their paid subscribers, so that’s probably not likely to happen, since there is no formal requirement to do so.

Using a metaphor of another hot button topic in today’s news, if I’m standing in the median strip at Saco Valley Shopping Center with my sign, I’m exercising my First Amendment rights, and I have every right to do so (for now, stay tuned). But if I tear up my sign and leave it there, it’s littering, plain and simple.

If I’m putting flyers on every parked vehicle in town, the owners of those vehicles did not ask for that flyer, therefore if they toss it on the ground, it’s my responsibility, not theirs.

Personally, I think leaving stacks of newspapers at frequently visited locations like supermarkets and the already existing newspaper boxes on sidewalks are enough to provide anyone easy enough access to a newspaper who wants one.

-Bill Thomas, Sanford