Editor,
Please consider joining us in supporting Pete Borchardt for Lincoln County Sheriff in 2018. Each of us has worked with or have personally known Pete for 20 years and greatly respect his character and work ethic. Pete is a professional, compassionate, diligent, and conscientious Police Officer serving the Merrill community for over 20 years. In working with Pete, we find him to take his job seriously, is detail oriented, and gets things done. Having gone to school in Merrill and now raising his family in Lincoln County, Pete has a stake in keeping the county safe. The duties and responsibilities of the Sheriff are very difficult and challenging and we believe Pete has the abilities to do the job well.
Christine Brahos
Jennifer Thorson
Marci Rankin
City of Merrill Police Department Clerical Staff
Editor,
On Thursday, June 21, President Trump’s wife, Melania, made a surprise visit to a shelter housing immigrant children in Texas. She was permitted access to this facility but in the past members of Congress were not allowed inside these facilities. Mrs. Trump is not an employee or elected representative of the United States, unfortunately she is married to Donald Trump. Our elected officials should be granted unlimited access to these facilities to make sure that laws are not being broken and living conditions are suitable. If Mrs. Trump discovered anything out of order she has to authority or jurisdiction to correct the problems.
The children still being held are being transferred all around the United States in the middle of the night to undisclosed locations. Why? Why is there such secrecy about this? There is no transparency about this but there should be.
These children were taken from their parents with no thought given to reunification. The parents and children were not given any sort of identification to facilitate reuniting them. If you are arrested and taken to jail and the authorities take your wallet, you get a receipt. Trump’s administration has taken children from their parents and given the parents nothing.
Mrs. Trump, can you fix this? It doesn’t look like Mr. Trump can or will.
Patrick Hommerding
Merrill
Editor,
I am Captain Greg Hartwig of the Merrill Police Department and past President of the Merrill Police Association. I am writing to endorse Pete Borchardt for the position of Lincoln County Sheriff.
I have known Pete Borchardt for over 20 years. I have grown to appreciate his work ethic and character which is respected among his peers. My endorsement of Pete does not come lightly. I highly respect Pete’s compassion towards victims of crimes. Pete makes it a priority for a victim of a crime to be made whole, while using every tactic possible to accomplish that. Pete will bring those values to the Sheriff’s Office. As a leader in our organization I know I can count on Pete Borchardt to accomplish tasks and most importantly I have found his decisions to be fair, sound, and above all he has great consideration of the people we serve. Pete is also a businessman running a small business in our community, and volunteers giving back to our community. If Pete makes a commitment to something he believes in, I know he will carry through with it. Pete has the education, training, experience, and supervisory skills to be your next Sheriff. Pete had also been selected to be a DARE officer teaching many children who are now young successful adults in our community. Although I don’t want to lose Pete in our department I support his decision to serve all the citizens of Lincoln County.
I encourage citizens of Lincoln County to vote for Pete Borchardt as your next Sheriff. Pete will use a fresh set of eyes while fairly assessing the organization and keeping both the taxpayer and the employees in mind. Join me in voting for Pete on August 14.
Captain Greg Hartwig
Merrill
Editor,
The next Wisconsin election is the 2018 partisan primary on Tuesday, Aug. 14. Will you be ready and able to vote? Some preparation now could save you time and trouble at the polls and will help ensure that your vote counts.
You might have already received a postcard from the Wisconsin Elections Commission about voter registration. They are sending postcards to 384,000 Wisconsinites who appear to be eligible to vote but are not registered.
Please go to the website MyVote.WI.gov to check that you are registered and ready to vote. Unregistered voters with a Wisconsin driver license or state ID card can choose to register online if their correct name and address are on file with the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). You will be directed to the correct page to update your address if needed. If your name has changed, you will need to notify both Social Security and the DMV before you can change your voter registration name. The deadline for registering online is July 25.
If you do not have a driver license or state ID, you can complete a registration form online, print it, sign it, and send it to your Municipal Clerk, along with suitable proof of residence (such as a copy of a tax bill, utility bill, or bank statement). The deadline for registering by mail is July 25. You can register in person with your Clerk until Aug.10.
You can always register at your polling place on Election Day, if you bring your photo ID and proof of residence.
MyVote.WI.gov provides other important information such as your polling place, what’s on your ballot, and your Municipal Clerk’s name and contact info. You can also use this website to update your name and address if necessary, or request an absentee ballot.
Save yourself problems at the polls by visiting MyVote.WI.gov now. If you run into an issue, you can always contact your Municipal Clerk for help. If you don’t have internet access, you can call this toll-free number: 866-VOTE-WIS (866-868-3947). Finally, the League of Women Voters of the Northwoods is also ready to help; you can send an email to: [email protected].
League of Women Voters – Northwoods
Dorothy Skye, President
Editor,
Be it a house, a city, or a workplace, it’s good to know a place’s history before one begins taking actions. Identifying the origins of a place one plans to have an impact on will help them take smart and constructive steps moving forward. This is why maintaining historical buildings in Merrill is important to the Young People’s Action Committee.
When visiting a city or choosing a new place to reside, one may experience some curiosity about what occurred to cause the city to develop in the first place and if that economic or cultural heritage is being sustained or creatively expanded. Is this city doing its best to build on the resources and investments that created it in the first place? One of the clearest indicators of that effort is reflected in the upkeep and current usage of buildings built decades earlier.
There are clear costs and challenges involved in updating and maintaining buildings constructed with older building techniques, but there are less apparent costs involved with tearing them down. These costs include loss of prior investment, environmental impacts of obtaining new building materials, and loss of cultural landmarks and historical property value. This value was not easily accumulated and is not always obvious in a bottom line economic analysis.
Young People’s Action Committee wants to keep Merrill’s old buildings standing and support new ideas to get people into their doors again. We have the ingenuity to capitalize on our forebears’ investments. To learn more, visit facebook.com/merrillyoungpeople.
Erik Pfantz
YPAC member
Dear Editor;
I am writing to support Ken Schneider for Sheriff. I have known Ken for about 30 years and he grew up right here in Lincoln County. He has worked at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in many capacities for 27 of those 30 years.
Ken is a great father and a role model in both his personal and professional life. I can’t think of anyone I would want as our Sheriff more than Ken. I know his coworkers will be more able to describe the training he has received over the years and the promotions he has earned better than I can. I simply want to say that Ken Schneider is a man of integrity and character. A person we can trust as our Sheriff. I am voting for Ken Schneider on August 14th. I am asking your readers to vote for as well.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Todd Smith
Merrill
Dear Editor,
I would like to address the importance of the race for Sheriff of Lincoln County. The Sheriff’s Office has over 70 people working in multiple divisions inside the agency, all of whom are under the supervision of the Sheriff we elect! That means we, the voters, have a responsibility for due diligence and informed decision making. It seems reasonable that we, in doing the hiring for an organization of this size, would want someone with supervisory experience; the kind of experience that comes from making decisions that you need to justify, and are held accountable for. We need someone who knows the inner workings of this organization. Of the two candidates, only Ken Schneider has held several positions that require that degree of responsibility and accountability. To put it another way, if you were hiring the CEO of the company you work for, wouldn’t you want to look at the applicants’ resumes, and look for the person with the knowledge and leadership experience to best lead your company? I believe that most of us would take that responsibility very seriously! I would ask that you apply the same standard to your vote on Aug. 14 for sheriff; if you do, I believe you will agree that there is no better choice than Ken Schneider for Sheriff of Lincoln County!
Thank you.
Mark Everson
Merrill
Dear Editor:
For a sixth year, Merrill residents have the opportunity to open their hears and pantries to help those in the community who are food insecure by joining Fill the Gazebo in Normal Park on Aug. 4, from 9 a.m.-noon). This huge food drive is sponsored by Merrill Area Ministries and allows our city to support Merrill’s three food pantries and the Food for Kids program in the coming months. All donations are used locally to support neighbors in need.
Last year, 36 organizations as well as 86 individuals participated in the drive and collected over 7,000 pounds of nonperishable food and care items and $6,000 in monetary contributions. This year, we are honoring the memory of one of our founding members, Barbara Dintelman, and are hoping to collect 10,000 pounds of goods to fill the gazebo to capacity! Community members can participate as individuals or groups and may drop off nonperishable donations at the gazebo (Normal Park) during the morning hours of Saturday, Aug. 4. Monetary donations can be made payable to Merrill Food Pantry whereas gifts for the Food for Kids program can take the form of gift cards to grocery stores, Walmart or Sam’s Club or checks made payable to Food for Kids.
The Merrill community has shown its generous nature in the past. We hope that 2018’s food drive further establishes that we are at our best when we care for each other and our community. Please support Fill the Gazebo in 2018!
Thank you,
Barbara Rothlisberg
Fill the Gazebo Committee
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The Foto News welcomes letters to the editor and makes every effort to publish as many as possible. The following guidelines apply: Letters are limited to 250 words. First preference will be given to timely letters of local concern. All letters must be signed. No anonymous letters. Each letter must contain the writer’s address and phone number for verification.
Deadline: Letters received after 10 a.m. Monday will be held for the following week’s issue.