KNOXVILLE, Ill. — For 24 years, Becky Conner has expressed her concerns about open leaf burning to city hall. The town allows its residents to burn its leaves six days in a week, and residents are divided on the subject.
“Leaf burning in the fall is a volatile type of issue in this town, there's two very strong sides," Conner said. "It creates a smoke that makes it hard to breathe. A lot of people have given comments, expressing their concerns but some just said, keep my name out of it.”
Conner, who is a registered nurse, said many fear of the backlash they could face if speaking out their concerns. However, she's stepping out of the smoke and standing up for her family.
"My concern is with my daughter's health, she has asthma and it can be a struggle for her to be outside."
The City of Knoxville has invited Becky to make her case to the council. She doesn't believe that they can get rid of burning, but she does have a solution in mind.
"Maybe we can have less days for burning. Set days for burning and allow people to plan around those days" Conner said.
Becky hopes that people will join her at city hall on Monday to speak out about their concerns.
"You shouldn't be afraid to say anything. This is a health issue," Conner said. "It's certainly not good for the environment and it's not good for the kids. We need to make a change."
Knoxville's city council will meet on Monday. Becky is expected to give a presentation explaining what health issues can occur due to the smoke.
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