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Efforts for tornado victims in Hugo heartfelt in many ways
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Wednesday, 04 June 2008
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Painful reminder
The tragic loss of life and physical destruction caused by the Hugo tornado has left a deep scar in our community. As has been expressed so overwhelmingly by many of the people we represent, the thoughts and prayers of our community are with those affected by the tragic death of Nathaniel Prindle, as well as those injured, and all of the families who have suffered the terrible loss of their homes and possessions.
As is the case with many disasters, the tornado reminded us of how blessed we are to be served by such highly trained, caring and committed public safety personnel. We also need to commend the invaluable contributions made by city of Hugo, Washington County and school district officials and employees. We are extremely proud of the professional manner in which the sheriff department, the city and Washington County coordinated and implemented the response to this disaster.
These individuals deserve our sincere thanks for their efforts. We commend the good work that you did, and we thank you. As the full scope of the devastation becomes clear, we are committed to making every effort possible to assist those in need and to heal the wounds on our community.
We will continue to work with the governor’s office and federal officials to expedite the qualification process for disaster relief. But for now the clean-up continues and the rebuilding begins.
Sen. Ray Vandeveer
Rep. Bob Dettmer
Rep. Matt Dean
A kind act
I was reading the St. Paul Pioneer Press article about the Hugo tornado. I read that the Roberts Family Funeral Home in Forest Lake and the Withrow Cemetery donated their services to the family of Nate Prindle.
What a wonderful thing to do.
God bless the Roberts family.
Barbara Carey
Columbus
Scandia concerns
Tuesday, May 21, the Scandia City Council approved the proposal from Tiller Corporation to begin excavating the groundwater at their mine located along Lofton Ave. near Bone Lake. It was very disappointing that the council took this action despite concerns raised that excavating could contaminate the valuable water resource Scandia residents use for drinking and recreation.
Tiller plans to excavate 50 feet into the groundwater and at the same time operate its asphalt plant and store over 120,000 gallons of fuel that will be as close as 100 feet to the exposed aquifer.
I have worked diligently on this matter to persuade the council and previously Washington County to not approve Tiller’s proposal. Washington County studied this issue for over a year and a half and did not authorize the excavation.
The Scandia Planning Commission and council began studying this proposal by hiring a consultant paid for by Tiller Corporation. After three months, Scandia government believes it has gathered enough information to conclude that excavation into the ground water is safe and will not harm the public’s health.
Two members of the commission - Susan Rodsjo and Thomas Krinkie disagreed with Tiller’s proposal and that it deserved further analysis before making a decision.
As many are aware, government and businesses have done a poor job of protecting the health and safety of our valuable water resources. The Environmental Protection Agency stated in its report to Congress about contamination: “the National Academy of Sciences estimated that over a trillion dollars, or approximately $4000 per person in the U.S. will be spent in the next 30 years on cleanup of contaminated soil and ground water.” Prevention, of course, would have been far more prudent.
I have submitted a petition to the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board to address this issue and to conduct further environmental review. I hope others will support this effort to protect the health and safety of Scandia’s water resources.
John Lindell
Scandia
Respect Due
How do you know when we’ve had a successful session at the Legislature?
When Senate Democratic Majority caucus leader Larry Pogemiller and House Republican Minority caucus leader Marty Siefert look like two angry school boys who didn’t get their way.
Gov. Pawlenty, Democratic Speaker Margaret Kelliher and Republican Sen. Senjem should be commended for their bi-partisan effort to end the second of two successive legislative sessions on time and under budget – something our state hasn’t seen in almost a decade!
I’ve contended the governor has largely shirked his responsibility to represent all Minnesotans. There is legitimate redemption for him in the leadership he displayed in these negotiations – he’s earned our respect.
As the Minority leader in the Senate, Republican Sen. Senjem understood the need for pragmatism and leadership in the face of needs and deficits – he’s gained our respect.
Finally, there’s a song that goes; “that’s right, the women are smarter.” This may best explain how Democratic House Speaker Margaret Kelliher played the pivotal role. Not only privately keeping Sen. Pogemiller on a short leash, she very astutely understood the nuance in the tea leaves she was reading – she deserves our respect.
There has been a sea change. The heavy hand of caucus leadership politics of Sen. Pogemiller and Rep. Siefert simply doesn’t work.
Which brings us back to March 4th 1861 and this quote from President Lincoln at his first inaugural; “This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people.”
Amen to that!
Wade Vitalis
Shafer
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