Viewpoints

To the Editor:

In case you all haven’t noticed we have a serious problem here in rural hometown Iowa.  It’s called accessibility.

If Main Streets really do Matter, take a look around your town.  Folks in our rural communities do get older and choose to live in rural areas because they don’t want to struggle with traffic and other urban nightmares.  Does that mean they should have to struggle with getting where they may want or need to go?

Many of our towns in Northeast Iowa do not have public transportation available, and that’s a whole other issue.  There are also a lot of us who have a ‘hitch-in-their-get-along’ that would like to get out of a vehicle and go into our amazing small-town shops or restaurants.  I can tell you from personal experience, folks with physical disabilities in our area are for the most part unhappily limited to accessing discount stores and fast-food places.

To the Editor:

I read the article “Area legislators field numerous concerns as public sounds off about issues at local legislative forum” in your March 23 edition about concerns regarding school funding.

I think all Iowans agree that quality education is key to a prosperous community.

It concerns me that Allamakee schools are not receiving the funding they need to provide quality education to students in our district. As a Waukon High School alumna, I can empathize with students whose learning experience is impeded because of budget cuts. It is not the student’s fault that enrollment is declining in our rural district.

That’s why I’m asking my district’s legislators to push this issue at the capitol. Students across Iowa should receive a quality, funded education, regardless of their zip code.

Sincerely,

Samantha Manning
St. Paul, MN

To the Editor:

To the Editor:
I’ve written to this newspaper a couple of times before, each congratulating sports teams who had achieved greatness and how proud I was of them and to be from a small town where people respected each other; a place where a foursome at the Country Club might include a doctor, teacher, employee at Nordec and a farmer. Good, honest people who worked hard, had fun and had values.
The city council and mayor of Waukon have made a determination that a street in Waukon actually is not a city street but a private driveway. What’s interesting about this decision is that this private drive has been paved, maintained, garbage collected and snow plowed for over four decades.

To the Editor, Citizens of Allamakee County, and the Board of Supervisors:
Allamakee County is a wonderful place with ample resources for our agricultural and tourism/recreation industries and we are all very blessed to live in such a place. It seems to me, however, that there has become an “Us vs. Them” mentality between these two vital groups. The past, present and future of Allamakee County economically is both agriculture and tourism/recreation, and not just one or the other.
That being said, I believe we need to work together as a community of concerned citizens to make both of these industries succeed. We need to be a “both/and” people and not an “either/or” community where we come to resent, torpedo or undermine the futures of our community. We can disagree, we can debate, but we must not come to hate or belittle those we do not agree with.

To the Editor:
The proposal by Reicks Farms for the Confinement Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) filled with swine to be built in Allamakee County on the former farm homesteaded by the Marti and Clark family off Highway 9 past the Landmark on Kedary Ridge Road presents a variety of concerns for this wife, mother of two young children, and nurse practitioner.

To the Editor:
I would like to add a quick note of support for the campaign to build a Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center.
I do this for a number of reasons:
1. My love for the people of Allamakee County and the natural beauty of this Driftless Area. I have enjoyed this love relationship for almost ninety years.
2. The pride that I enjoy when telling people, who don’t know about this area, of how blessed we are to call this home.
3. My desire to do all that I can to embellish the beauty of this Driftless Area.
4. To leave a legacy for the next generation and provide a home for them to learn about the Driftless Area. A museum that will educate all about the history of Allamakee County and the industries that have existed and still exist in the Driftless Area (Many of them that I worked in when I was young). It’s great to know our roots.

To the Editor:
Hi everyone, just writing to express some more appreciation to some deserving people. First up, to our local law enforcement personnel. I am glad that I am not calling you frequently, but I know that your help is always appreciated when you show up at the hospital or clinic, and it is great to know that you are out there in the community keeping us safe.
Second, appreciation goes out to the members of the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors and Waukon City Council. The descriptions of your meetings in The Standard have been quite lengthy recently! I do not agree with every decision you make nor do I envy you for being in the proverbial crosshairs of somebody practically every time you make a decision. I do, however, appreciate that you give your time and your careful consideration to issues that affect us all.

To the Editor:
The Driftless Area Education and Visitor Center is a valuable addition to the overall quality of life in Allamakee  County. While we can talk about the additional revenues this facility will bring to the county through increased retail, gas and hotel/motel taxes, the true benefit of having the Center is the education and historic preservation efforts that the Center will offer to the area’s children, all other citizens of the county, and visitors from near and far.  It is a forward looking project that will teach all of us about the value and beauty of our unique place in the world - the driftless area of the upper Mississippi River.

To the Editor:
Our towns have been invaded by deadly ‘radiation’-producing antennas and spikes on towers and rooftops turning our homes, schools and place of employment into death traps. Now a local electric company is invading our rural life with deadly antennas on utility poles.
This is being funded by Connect America, a program administered by the Federal Communications Commission. The CEO of the FCC is Tom Wheeler, the former CEO of the Telecom Industry. Wheeler defunded Dr. George Carlos and his team of research scientists when they were proving cell phones are harmful. There was dirty pool going on at that time and it included our politicians, which resulted in the passing of the 1996 Telecom Act which put wireless on the market without having to pass safety tests.