Your chance to speak is here

To the Editor:
The City of Caledonia will be holding a public meeting on the proposed zoning application submitted by Houston County on July 11 in the City of Caledonia gymnasium, 219 East Main St., at 6:30 p.m. This public meeting is for all persons in Houston County. It is not limited to the residents of Caledonia. This may be your only chance to speak out on the CJC. The building that the County is proposing is 132 feet by 220 feet, 3 floors, 45 feet tall and equal to 82,000 square feet. Come, come to this vital meeting.

According to newspaper articles, this building will be housing State and Federal prisoners. In plain words, this is not a jail! This is a prison! (Letís face the truth: "We need a new jail, not a prison.") It will be able to hold 82 prisoners. The total cost over a 20 year period could easily be 160 to 200 million dollars. These commissioners appear to be bound and determined to not only screw the residents of Caledonia, but also all residents of the County.

A few of the variances that they want to have the City of Caledonia approve are to decrease the number of required parking stalls from 590 spaces to 179 spaces. They are missing 411 spaces. Not only that, they want to decrease the parking space length and width by 7 feet 1 foot respectively. (Will this mean that only compact cars will be allowed to park in the parking lots?) How ridiculous a request! Secondly, they want an approval of the setback requirement by 10 feet (from 30 feet to 20 feet.) (Will the prisoners be able to see into the homes across the streets?) How ridiculous a request! Thirdly, they want an approval to make the height 10 feet higher. (From 35 feet to 45 feet.) Do they want the prison to be the pride of Houston County? How ridiculous a request! (The building will be higher than what our flag will fly!)

Recently, the City of Caledonia approved to spend $800,000 to upgrade the electrical system because the present system was not adequate to handle our current needs. What will be operational cost of this monster building be? How many new employees will be needed? The Sheriffís department wants to increase staff because of major drug problems. This Federal, State and County prison will also greatly increase our drug problems and this is a proven fact!

Hereís an idea: How about a new ordinance stating that every jail or prison must be on forty acres. Come to the meeting! God bless us all!
Larry Salm
Caledonia, Minn.

Contributions of a Marine icon

To the Editor:
Minnesota lost a piece of living history this month. Marine Corporal Charles Lindberg of Ritchfield passed away on June 24. Corporal Lindberg was the last surviving member of the Marines who raised the first American flag at Iwo Jima during World War II.

Cpl. Lindberg spent much of his life giving back to Minnesota. He was a living reminder of the sacrifices made by our men and women that serve in the military, and he used first-hand experience to teach us about the many battles our country has endured to secure our freedom.

Cpl. Lindberg never desired to be the center of attention, insteadwishing to focus on the sacrifices of all veterans. However, I believe it is fitting to pay tribute to a Minnesotan who was part of such a poignant moment in American history.

Iíve known Corporal Lindberg since 2002 when I escorted him to the Senate gallery to listen to a thunderous oration. The Senate had unanimously approved a resolution honoring Cpl. Lindberg and urging the U.S. Congress to approve a name-change to the Rochester Veterans Outpatient Clinic in Lindbergís name. After the resolution failed at the federal level, I re-authored the resolution in 2007. With his death, it becomes even more important to pass this resolution next year and pursue the Rochester clinicís name-change with our federal lawmakers.

As we celebrate the Fourth of July and remember our countryís blessings, it is a fitting time to also remember Cpl. Lindberg. Please take a moment with your families this year to offer a prayer for him and other veterans who have given service and sacrifices to our nation.
State Senator Sharon
Erickson Ropes, District 31

Report card time for our state legislators

To the editor,
Children sometimes "spin doctor" the events that happen at school to make things sound better. They define events based on their own interpretation. Since the close of the legislative session Sen. Sharon Erickson Ropes and Rep. Kenneth Tschumper have been busy giving their impressions. With representative government you get to give them their grades.

In Minnesota where one party controls the legislature and the other party controls the governorship, "bipartisan legislation" is legislation that both parties agree is good for everyone. The legislative session was marked not by passage of individual bills (like support for nursing homes), but by "omnibus bills" filled with social issues which the governor promised in advance to veto if passed. You grade how bipartisan our representatives were.

A fair hearing of opinions about issues is the way to grow consensus. There are only about five times in the history of Minnesota that the Speaker of the House silenced discussion of a bill and three of those five times happened during the closing days of this last legislative session. How fair is that?

Everyone (Republican and DFL) is in agreement that many Minnesota highways and bridges are in need of repair. Rather than hammer out a compromise with which everyone could live, the proud accomplishment of the closing days is "we finished on time." No agreement was reached.

The $800 million Governor Pawlenty said in advance would be available is going to education. Not everyone is in agreement with the distribution which will allow the Twin Cities school districts to benefit more than the outlying districts. You decide if it was a good deal.

Sen. Erickson Ropes and Rep. Tschumper worked for pro-choice legislation and against pro-life proposals. You decide how to grade their performance.

Rosemary Zemlo
La Crescent, MN