Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I returned last week from a wonderful trip to Scotland with my sister. But it would have been a very different trip, or perhaps not happened at all, if several employees with the Virginia Peninsula Public Service Authority (VPPSA) and the Middle Peninsula Landfill had not gone beyond the call of duty to help me.

Here’s why: the day before my trip I was rushing around checking off my to-do list before my flight from Richmond the next day. Boarding kennel—check; the Mathews transfer station (the dump!)—check; pharmacy for travel supplies—check.

But as I was driving, I suddenly pulled over on the side of the road in horror. I realized I had accidentally thrown my pocketbook into the dumpster with my trash. It had fallen down into some empty boxes. All my money, all my credit cards, IDs, keys, travel documents, etc.

To say I was upset is a massive understatement, as I’m sure Cecil Taylor, with the VPPSA main office, would confirm. ...