To the Editor,
I have contemplated writing this letter for a long time, so here goes. I know we all have seen and heard the negative publicity that had been reported about Lincoln Hills/Copper Lake Schools. I would like to tell you about a different side of the story. I am a Foster Grandparent up at the schools. I have been coming up here for 15 months. At first I was hesitant about the job, but I must say I am so glad I did. I have met some of the most dedicated and kind people. The teachers are all very patient, some days their jobs are quite difficult. One teacher has been here since 1990.
We Grandparents are all treated with respect. I can say I have never felt scared or threatened in any way. YC’s patrol the halls on a regular basis. I am not saying that all the youth are receptive to us, but the majority are. We all have seen and heard things we would rather not have. All of us see conflicts between youth. One happened recently and two youths jumped in front of a grandmother to protect her. So many have artistic talents. We have an art contest each month and I am truly humbled to see many of their projects. For me, my favorite thing is graduation. I have seen some of the toughest youth graduate. They put on that cap and gown and it transforms them (if even for a short time); they are all smiles and proud of their accomplishments.
Some of our current grandparents have been coming up here for many years – 15 years for one lady. Our ages range from 57 to 86. Many are in the living units where we visit, play games and bake with the youth.
For the holidays, many of the youth were involved in making wreaths and roping. Currently they are in the green house. Most have never grown anything, so it’s a good experience. Later on they will make hanging flower baskets as well as planting vegetable gardens. I see so much potential in these youth. Many have not come from great environments and have not had the opportunities many of us had growing up.
I would say my purpose in writing this is to maybe make us all think twice when we hear another negative report about Lincoln Hills. After all, we really all are products of our environments.
Thank you for your time,
Patricia Schwab
Foster Grandparent at Lincoln Hills/Copper Lake Schools
Editor,
There is a worldwide organization whose calling it is to diversify the way into the future, coined “Transition Towns.” Followers of this movement accept a connection between the theory of peak oil and the changing of global climate. Peak oil explains that, based on a specific amount of petroleum, a point will be reached in where there is a maximum rate of extraction followed by a decline in oil availability.
Our lifestyles, as people participating in the modern economy, are heavily dependent on fossil fuels, like oil and natural gas. In order to maintain a certain way of living, we need access to precise amounts of these natural resources. Through the perspective of peak oil and climate change, the availability of oil will face a deficit in regards to our current consumption and the shifting of the Earth’s climate will halt economic operations as we know it.
Transition Towns follow a 21st century path towards a vision of abundance, which promotes self-sufficiency as an adaptive measure necessary to lessen our dependency on oil and allow for the stabilization of the climate. For information on this movement, do a Google search, read some literature, and check out how to connect with our community’s transition initiative by visiting www.facebook.com/MerrillAAC or T.B. Scott Library’s webpage for Building Merrill Together.
I believe we may all hold a hope of continuous growth and improvement, and I think this movement has been created as a manifestation of this collective intention.
Heather Young
Merrill
Editor,
Merrill Eagles Auxiliary 584 would like to say “thank you” to the businesses and individuals that have donated as well as the people attending our raffle to make it a success for our scholarships.
Spring Raffle Committee
To the Editor:
Erik Pfantz’s recent letter to the Foto News is one of the best I have read. It is encouraging to me because he recognizes the huge need to live with less dependence on fossil fuels. He writes that “young people are consciously limiting personal energy usages in order to practice stewardship of earth’s resources.”
It is encouraging to me also because he represents Merrill’s Young People Action Committee, an organization that is working to achieve a sustainable lifestyle. To change things we need organization; we need to work together, to network.
To Erik Pfantz and the Merrill Young People Action Committee, I wish you great success and much ongoing enthusiasm for your purposes. And, thank you!
James A. Lewis
Village of Maine
Volunteer lobbyist, Friends Committee on National Legislation
Editor:
On April 30, 2018, at 2 p.m., Lincoln County hosted a WisDOT listening session with Secretary Dave Ross of WisDOT. This was published in local newspapers and on local radio stations.
Sadly, not one of the county board members of county employees attended this session. There were attendees from Vilas, Oneida and Langlade counties including towns, cities and villages.
I would like to add that the session was very informative and a rare opportunity to talk one-on-one with Secretary Ross. I am sure that Secretary Ross noted the lack of interest from the host county.
Carl Vander Sanden
Gleason
Letter to the Editor of the Foto News:
I wish to thank the hundreds of Lincoln County residents who signed a petition to place a referendum on the Aug. 14, 2018 primary election ballot regarding whether the County should continue the $20 per private vehicle “wheel tax/registration fee” for the 2019 budget.
It was my opinion that the fee increase that was passed in 2017 and that we are now paying in 2018 was actually a tax for which there was no public hearing. This lack of transparency by government is frustrating to the average taxpaying parent or parents working one or two jobs to make ends meet. It is also my opinion that this tax was dumping on the folks who least can afford it.
At the September 2017 meeting when the tax was passed 11-7 with two abstentions, one supervisor had the gall to comment that $20 wasn’t much since most people were driving expensive vehicles. At the May 15, 2018 meeting I labeled that statement “over-the-top elitism.” This same supervisor (name will be provided upon request) then used a parliamentary procedure of “calling the question” which ended any debate on the referendum resolution.
Most of those supervisors who spoke at the May 15 meeting stated that 80-90% of their constituents oppose the wheel tax. In a straw hand vote of 19-3, the board voted to keep the tax and formally adopt it in July. More to come.
Bill Zeitz
District 9, Lincoln County Board