I am writing in regard to a comment by Chad Byron in the May 3 edition of the Bristol Herald Courier. Byron said, "Who wants to work in a sewer plant for the rest of their life?"

I am current employed in the wastewater industry at a county wastewater treatment plant. I have many colleagues who started in this field after high school and will retire from this field. The wastewater industry is not like any other. It will not be leaving the country or downsizing. If anything, this industry is always growing – if not growth from new residences entering a municipality, then from larger businesses entering the municipality.

Byron could have just said that the job was not what he was looking for as his career path. It is a very reasonable career path for many other people in our region. I feel a politician should not be putting down the way a constituent makes his or her living.

Karen G. Blevins
Abingdon, Va.