Letter to the editor: Time to breathe new life into a new YMCA facility
Growing up in Jamestown in the 1970s and ’80s I remember the YMCA was a hustling, bustling place for exercise and family togetherness, while also trying to stay fit. Fast forward 20 years later; my wife and I move back here; I was excited for the move and fond memories of the Y started coming back to me. Twenty years can make a huge difference in many things and to my astonishment and disappointment, the YMCA has fallen victim to this tragic change in our society with the popularity of technology.
RELATED CONTENTLetter to the editor: American citizens must engage in civic dialogue
The expression “We, the people” (the phrase that begins the U.S. Constitution), the Constitutional Amendments and the Bill of Rights provide extensive direction to the nation on the unquestionable notion of nourishing a unified, respectful and civically responsible society.
RELATED CONTENTKing Kandy and the gingerbread people
Skipping through the Candy Land of the health care bill, one is tempted to hum a few bars of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.” What a deal. For deal-makers, that is. Not so much for American taxpayers, who have been misled into thinking that the sweetheart deals have been excised.
RELATED CONTENTVermont no better than N.D.
Think Vermont, and you think green mountains, maple syrup and dairy cows. Think Minnesota, and you think Land of 10,000 Lakes. Think North Dakota and you think. what? Buffalo, the Badlands and sunflowers on a positive note. Forty below and flooding on a negative.
RELATED CONTENTMost readers want a vote on sales tax
Last week, The Jamestown Sun asked readers of its Web site the question “How do you feel about the Jamestown City Council extending the 1 percent sales tax without a public vote?” Here are the results of the unscientific survey:
Letter to the editor: Regulate perscription drugs, not dietary supplements
While Americans continue to fight the government takeover of our health care, Sen. John McCain announced his plan for the government to regulate all dietary supplements. His Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 calls upon the Food and Drug Administration to regulate dietary supplements as if they are drugs. The language is so sweeping that the FDA would have a free hand to regulate all food products, which are manufactured to supplement nutrition. Has this country gone completely insane? How many people die each year from prescription drugs?
RELATED CONTENTEurope gets it on fighting Islamization
When the Netherlands’ Party for Freedom leader Geert Wilders recently addressed voters in Almere, a Dutch city of 200,000 where his party handily won elections this week, he told them what to expect as his once-tiny, anti-Islamization party started flexing its new political muscle. Aside from lower taxes and other political staples, his plans for this city not far from Amsterdam include a ban on Muslim headscarves.
RELATED CONTENT‘The last thing I want to do is kill kids’
As our air war against terrorists accelerates — with strikes by pilotless drone planes, helicopters, et al. — unintentional civilian deaths and serious injuries mount. A Feb. 22 Wall Street Journal report from Kabul begins: “U.S. Special Operations Forces (hunting down Taliban) ordered an air strike that killed at least 27 civilians, and the soldiers may not have satisfied rules of engagement designed to avoid the killing of innocents, Afghan and coalitions officials said.”
RELATED CONTENTOther views: Disclose all travel and who pays for it
It’s mind-boggling how our state leaders can sometimes miss the boat so completely when it comes to government transparency. What’s an essential trait of good government too often is characterized as inconvenient — or, worse, unnecessary. As a result, what seems so obvious to most of us apparently never occurs to those in leadership roles.
RELATED CONTENTLetter to the editor: Berg is best GOP candidate to run against Pomeroy
I believe in helping honest and good people who put their names on the ballot. Five and a half years ago I went door to door for some state legislators. It was a cold, rainy October day — I remember that — and I remember being impressed with the man I had been teamed with for the project. It was the first time I met Rick Berg. The weather may have helped some people quit a little early or forget to show up, but Berg is not that person.
RELATED CONTENTLetter to the editor: Highway won’t be less well-traveled with gravel
I am upset but not surprised by the “going backward” decision to recycle Stutsman County Road 40 (Old Highway 10, east between Jamestown and Spiritwood) back to gravel, a road that spanned across North Dakota since 1921. Why is a road that is traveled as much as that stretch in such poor condition that only recycling back to gravel is the answer? Neglect comes to mind.
RELATED CONTENTLetter to the editor: ‘Run’ raises money for worthy causes
Once again we are nearing the “Running o’ the Green.” And though I am well aware that this is a controversial subject every year, I would like to go on the positive side and remind people that it is for a very good cause. Larry Knoblich and his “little leprechauns” have spent endless hours organizing this event, to try to make it a fun and safe fundraiser.
RELATED CONTENTScore big partisan success with education reform
Congress has a chance — a narrowing one, given the calendar — to prove it can do something important on a bipartisan basis: recommit the country to school reform. Among all of President Barack Obama’s priorities, this may have the longest-term significance, holding the key (along with reducing the nation’s debt) to whether America can compete in the 21st century.
RELATED CONTENTOther views: Funding misfire unfortunate for DSU library
As much as starting the renovation of Stoxen Library on the Dickinson State University campus would be a great thing, doing it within the parameters set by the North Dakota Legislature is a must. Lawmakers during the 2009 session understood the need for work on the DSU library, and said if the state had $25 million in the bank on Dec. 31, 2009, then it would spend $8.8 million on the DSU library. It was not an unreasonable trigger.
RELATED CONTENTLetter to the editor: Hoeven looks all but a shoo-in for Senate seat
I was not at all surprised to see former North Dakota Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp decide against running for the U.S. Senate this year against the presumed Republican candidate, Gov. John Hoeven. In my opinion, Heitkamp’s announcement leaves the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party without a credible or a viable candidate to make the race against the immensely popular, three-term governor.
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