Mid-Hudson News reports that Dutchess County legislators voted to keep burning trash. The vote was 17 to seven, with Republicans voting for burning trash, and Democrats voting against. Dutchess County currently burns 45 percent of its solid waste, hundreds of tons of trash. The county recycles 36 percent of its waste. David Heller of Rhinebeck, one of the speaker's against the plan at a public hearing, called the legislature a group of “illiterate pyromaniacs," and Minority Leader Yvette Valdés Smith said, “We are better than this." But Democrat Legislator Randy Johnson, who missed the meeting said he would have joined Republicans voting for the plan. Johnson said, “Burning trash is not a bad idea.... The EPA monitors the emissions at the burning facility, and so far, this is the most efficient way to get rid of trash.” Read more about this story in Mid-Hudson News.