Those of us in trash district No. 8 didn’t get our scheduled pickup by IESI — or designated pinch hauler — on Wednesday, Jan. 28, due to the snow.

Attempts to call IESI got a recording saying that their offices were closed due to inclement weather. This is being written on the morning of Jan. 29 and we still have no answer as to when or if we will get a pickup this week. The county used a “minimum level of service” as a selling point for trash districts.

No pickup is certainly minimal.

Failing in my attempt to contact IESI, I e-mailed Lora Mather at the county. Below is the response I got from her. It seems that the county-approved IESI is not living up to the contract. It’s a good thing that police, firefighters and various utility repair crews don’t enjoy the option of not showing up in bad weather.

It was better when St. Louis County was still a democracy. We would have a new hauler this time next week.

Tom Lynch

Oakville

Due to weather and road conditions, IESI will not be running routes today.

Why:

The snow forecast was wrong and lasted much later than it was supposed to.

They would be unable to utilize some driveways or private roads.

They will only be a hindrance to the road crews and to the general public trying to get their vehicles out.

With all the school cancellations there will be an increase (in the) amount of kids playing in the snow and a lot of people trying to dig out their own cars. It just isn’t worth the risk factors of running.

The county agrees with these reasons and have approved no running the routes today or yesterday. They also did not have their customer service staff come in today, thus if you can’t leave your trash at the curb then call IESI tomorrow.

Leave your trash at the curb and they will collect in the near future. At this time, I can’t tell you the exact day either.