Letter to the Editor:
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has designated September as Juror Appreciation Month.
The Lincoln County Circuit Judges, Clerk of Circuit Court and court staff would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to past, present and future jurors. Your contributions are greatly appreciated by the Court. Jury service has been a vital aspect of our government for over 200 years. Jury duty, along with voting, is one of the primary means by which citizens participate in the work of our government. We value your time and commitment to our justice system.
In 2011, a total of approximately 1,800 jurors were summoned for jury duty in Lincoln County. In 2012, to date, approximately 1,350 jurors have been summoned to serve.
We would also like to thank the many private companies, government agencies, small businesses, school districts and all those who encourage and support their employees when they are called to jury service. In honoring the excellent service and commitment of citizens who perform jury duty, we hope to reinforce public confidence in the jury system, improve communication with jurors and employers and disseminate an important and positive message about jury service.
Your local courts depend on your service. Thank you for your service!
With sincere gratitude,
Jay R. Tlusty
Lincoln County Circuit Court Presiding Judge
Cindy L. Kimmons
Lincoln County Clerk of Circuit Court
Dear Editor:
A mocker needs to hide his own inadequacies, to build himself up by tearing others down. Mocking is an ugly act and a window to a person’s character.
If a man gains by mocking the heritage, history, culture, or personal choices of another, what does it say of his character?
7th Congressional District Wisconsin is being targeted by one candidate’s TV campaign ad mocking his opponent personally. The ad also contains a weak attempt to present a fact, but the real intent is to mock and ridicule. And, the “fact” stated is not even true.
The ad claims Congressman Sean Duffy supports a plan that would cost Medicare subscribers an additional $6,400 yearly. This comes from an out-of-date, widely criticized Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of an obsolete plan. In doing this now irrelevant analysis, CBO ignored a critical fact, that the plan allowed for low income seniors to receive an annual assistance stipend of $7,800 (FactCheck.org). CBO also failed to factor in free market efficiencies and productivities, which will always compare favorably to government run efforts which tend to inefficiency, bloating, waste and fraud.
Every candidate for public office has the opportunity to approach campaigning using tactics founded in civility, respect and truth. By his choice to mock his opponent Pat Krietlow has apparently chosen to approach his campaigning by using end justifies means tactics.
Pat Krietlow owes it to Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District to step up to the plate with his ideas to save Medicare and to deal with other critical issues.
For any candidate who believes mocking an opponent is the right strategy to employ, who fails to present his own ideas, there are other careers than U.S. Congressman. A gig standing under the Capitol rotunda dome telling knock-knock jokes may be a better fit for a man who sees himself as cleverly funny, and who gains personally by mocking others.
In times of crisis we need sincere, committed men and women. We do not need clever, funny guys. We do not need mockers.
Character counts.
Bill Fehrmann
Merrill
Dear Editor;
I came to the Merrill Labor Day parade to participate with our Grampa’s Farm entry. We came to be seen but instead I came and I saw. From the vantage point of my pick-up truck, along with my youngest grandchild Bethany asleep in her car seat, I got a pretty good look at this community called Merrill.
I had complained a bit that my being in the parade would keep me from enjoying it. I wouldn’t get to see much of it. From my seat in the pick-up I would only see the Boy Scouts ahead of me and family and friends in the rear view mirror. I would miss the marching bands, fire trucks, old cars, 4-H clubs, church groups and businesses large and small reminding us that they are proud to be part of the Merrill community. I would miss seeing the farmers with the shiny new and not so new tractors and the truckers with their rigs polished and ready to hit the road again. But, what I did see was Merrill, WI at its best.
You came out in your tank tops and overalls, Badger and Packers T-shirts, flip-flops, tennis shoes and cowboy boots. You brought your lawn chairs and lined the streets, sat on the curbs and gathered on the lawns of our historic library and courthouse. Proud business owners stood with family and friends in front of their storefronts. Each of you staked out your spot. The same as you found and staked out a place in the Merrill community. I saw the fabric of our community in the faces that lined our streets to celebrate who we are. We were spread from one end of town to the other and yet we were all one. I saw the faces in the crowd. They were not all the European faces that carved this community out of the wilderness so long ago. Today’s Merrill has welcomed and embraced the cultures of the world, which is exactly what this nation was founded on.
I saw a World War II veteran who has lived with the disability that war dealt him as he fought to keep out country free. And I saw a young Marine with his young family, home on leave for a short while until he goes back to the job of service his country and ours – THANK YOU! I saw a young mother feeding her baby while the children around her scurried into the street and back again gathering candy. Merrill’s next generation enjoying one last day of summer before the school bell brings back that familiar routine.
From my pick-up truck I got a pretty good look at this community and I think most of small town America. From my view there is no place I’d rather call home.
Jim Severt
Merrill
Editor:
I was sitting on my front porch watching a squirrel chatter away at me full blast. I could tell by his frustration he was saying, “I’ve been running around this yard all day and got two nuts.” I wondered why that was so hilarious to me and concluded it was because every single person on this planet has had at least one day just like it. Have you ever wondered what a planet of people really have in common? I think it’s a lot more than we all realize. And so I say to the people of Merrill – Don’t have a 2 nut day.
Debra DeLong
Merrill
Dear Editor,
Citizens for Decency of Lincoln Co., Inc., would like to thank everyone who participated with our parade float and Granny Apple Stand at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds on Labor Day. We would especially like to thank Brickner’s Park City for the use of the truck, Drew’s Piggly Wiggly and Dave’s County Market for the donation of the delicious apples and the Knights of Columbus for allowing us to use their food stand. Thanks also to everyone who patronized our stand. We hope to see you again next year.
Ruth Benson
Citizens for Decency of Lincoln County, Inc.
Editor,
If you believe in abortion, thank God your mother didn’t.
Eugenia Springer
Merrill