We welcome letters to the Editor, a chance for members of the community to comment on issues of concern to them. All letters must be original, not duplications of letters addressed to public officials or written by others. The views and opinions expressed are those of the letter writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication, its publishers, Editor, or staff.
To the Editor:
I’m writing to encourage the Lincoln County Board to halt all sale action of Pine Crest Nursing Home. It is my hope that a community advisory committee (or something similar) could be formed to thoroughly investigate all possibilities to keep it County owned. Selling it is not saving it! I have been hearing many feasible possibilities throughout the community. They just need to be thoroughly explored. I know that it will take some work. I also know that there are willing and capable residents that would put their hearts and souls into getting it back in the black and keeping it County owned. Please, to satisfy all concerned, stop the sale.
– Kris Block
Merrill, Wis.
To the Editor:
People for Pine are local citizens who are working to keep Pine Crest affordable, accessible, and County-owned. The Pine Crest survey results published in this paper show the public is overwhelmingly opposed to the sale of Pine Crest. The survey results reflect that 85.3% of the 782 respondents would support an increase in property taxes to keep Pine Crest County owned.
Pine Crest should not be sold. For decades, we have all paid taxes so that Pine Crest can take care of people when they need it. Now suddenly, it’s being sold out from under us. Almost nobody thinks that’s a good idea. Over 800 people signed a petition opposing the sale in June, citizens packed the County Board meeting in August when the County Board voted against holding a referendum on Pine Crest, and as the Pine Crest survey shows, the community still overwhelmingly opposes the sale. The people have spoken. The County must maintain ownership of Pine Crest. It’s time for the County Board to stop this sale, immediately.
The ill-conceived attempt to sell Pine Crest doesn’t solve the growing issue of long-term care in Lincoln County. Selling Pine Crest would only make the problem worse. What is needed now is to find solutions that will care for people today and in the future. We are calling on the Board to take Pine Crest off the market now.
– Don Dunphy
Merrill, Wis.
Letters To The Editor Policy:
*Letters must be 250 words or less. (There will be no exceptions to this. Any letter longer than 250 words will not be printed.)
*The writer must include their full name, complete address, and a phone number where he/she can be easily reached for verification. Phone numbers and street addresses will not be published, but will be used for verification purposes, if necessary. Letters must be signed and the name, city, and state will be printed.
*Letters may be edited for style, grammar, and length. Form letters or those we determine to be libelous or slanderous will not be accepted. Any letter deemed derogatory, inflammatory, or involving vulgar language will not be published. We reserve all rights to reject material submitted to this publication.
*Letters will be published on a “first come, first served” basis. Any letters which we are unable to publish in the printed newspaper may be run online at www.merrillfotonews.com and/or may be printed in the paper at a later date.
*In fairness to all, and due to space constraints, there is a limit of two letters per year from an individual writer. Additional letters may be submitted to our Paid Letters to the Editor column and will require payment in full prior to publication at the same rate as Political Letters to the Editor (see policy below).
Political Letters To The Editor Policy:
All letters submitted as an endorsement for a political candidate, referendum, or political agenda will carry the same guidelines as above; however, they will be charged $40.00 per letter of up to 250 words in length. Longer political letters will be accepted but will be charged $10.00 per additional 100 words. All political letters must be prepaid prior to printing. Letters to the Editor will not be accepted from candidates running for election or representatives of an organization endorsing their own referendum, as these are clearly advertisements and not opinion letters; those submissions will be referred to our Advertising Department to be run as paid ads.