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Thanks for allergy awareness |
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To the Editor:
In last week’s Argus, Lou Ann Jopp wrote an article about food
allergies. As a parent of a child with a severe peanut allergy,
along with an egg allergy, I was so glad to read this.
It can be very difficult monitoring everything my son eats, so it takes
the community’s awareness too. When he was in daycare, we had a
great provider (Dawn Felten) making sure he was always in a “peanut
free” environment. Now that he’s in school, Caledonia Elementary
does a wonderful job making sure the cooks, teachers, and students are
educated about those kids with severe allergies.
Too many parents have watched their children die due to lack of
knowledge of the severity of food allergies. For instance a few
years ago a Logan High School student died from eating a piece of
chocolate that had a hazelnut inside. Or the fifth grader on a
field trip who died after he ate chili that was thickened with peanut
butter.
Although we will never be able to protect our children from the dangers
of the world, living in a small community like Caledonia sure does make
it easier. Thanks for writing the article to provide more
awareness.
Shelly Cavanaugh
Caledonia. MN.
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‘March’ is for hunger |
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To the Editor:
What is hunger? The dictionary states that hunger is “a compelling need
or desire for food and discomfort caused by the need of food.”
Minnesota Food Share defines hunger as “the physical and mental
condition that comes from not eating enough food due to insufficient
economic, family or community resources. Hunger exists in families
where members take turns eating or eat smaller meals to make food last
longer.”
In Minnesota hunger touches people of every age: 56 percent of food
shelf visitors are families with children and 20 percent are seniors.
In 2007, 992,750 Minnesotans lived in households struggling to put food
on the table. (Minnesota’s total population is about 5,167,101). Since
2000, the number of Minnesota children living in extreme poverty has
doubled and are growing poorer faster than the nation’s children
overall. In 2007, there were over 2 million food shelf visits statewide
and 45 million pounds of food were distributed to Minnesota families.
Yet, food shelf usage continues to climb. Hunger hurts every day for
those who use Minnesota’s more than 300 food shelves. More than 50
percent of food shelf visitors work. Of those using our food shelves,
about 47 percent of adults skip meals to stretch their budgets and 14
percent of children do. Hungry kids have difficulty learning and have
more medical problems and absenteeism than children with healthy
nourishment. Houston County has an above average rate of hunger and
poverty.
Minnesota Food Share has a special campaign during the month of March.
Please donate food to your local food shelf and consider a cash
donation during March, 2008. In Caledonia, the SEMCAC food shelf is
located at 138 East Main Street, (side door), telephone is 725-3677.
For your convenience, there are food collection carts in many churches
and other places. You can also deliver your food donations and/or mail
your contribution. For many users of food shelves, the food shelf is
the only help available. During this Christian season of Lent, please
donate food or cash so that the food shelves in Minnesota will be able
to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for food. 100 percent of the
money raised during the Minnesota Food Share March Campaign purchases
food for hungry Minnesotans. Hunger is a very real problem. Thank you
and God bless us all.
Larry Salm
Caledonia, Minn.
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It's okay to switch |
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To the Editor:
When politicians switch their positions it can be frustrating for their
supporters, but sometimes it is for the best interests of all.
Right now the DFL is in charge of writing our laws, and human cloning
is the issue because of a bill passed by the Senate last year. Not only
does the Kahn/Cohen Bill (SF100) take lives through human
experimentation and cloning, it’s not worth it. Breakthroughs in adult
stem cell research have made the need for experimentation on embryonic
stems cells unnecessary. More than 70 cures and treatments have
already been developed from adult stem cell research; while no
embryonic stem cell cures exist. If bio-tech firms don’t want to
risk investing in human cloning, why should we?
Sen. Sharon Ropes Erickson and Rep. Ken Tschumper by their support last
year of this bill showed little regard for the loss of human life
resulting from “somatic cell nuclear transplantation.” That is the term
this bill uses to mask the human cloning already taking place. I could
describe the procedure, but the bottom line is that it is wrong.
Instead of getting around state law by changing the terminology, they
should just shut it down.
It is not too late for Sen. Ropes Erickson and Rep. Tschumper to change
their positions, and embrace the Emmer Minority Report, effectively
banning human cloning. I would support their action whole-heartedly.
Any other behavior is irrational, not in the best interest of the
citizens of Minnesota and a waste of taxpayers’ money (as we are
ultimately paying for it). For those who have concern for human life,
any other action is morally wrong. I’ve written my representative and
governor, why don’t you.
Paul Ibisch
La Crescent, Minn.
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Snowplows |
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Snowplow: A machine for the clearing of snow (per the dictionary).
Usually, county roads are cleared by county snowplows and county
employees. East Main Street in Caledonia is County Highway 3 and
therefore, it would seem logical that county snowplows and county
employees are clearing the snow on this road. Regardless of who is
clearing the snow, is there an ordinance that requires snowplow drivers
to travel at high speeds so as to make the snow become a projectile? Is
there a job duty requirement that requires this?
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My personal brief notes in regard to the life of Barack Obama |
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Barack Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961 in the state of Hawaii. As a young
child he lived in Indonesia (1967) for about four to six years. Then he
returned to the state of Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents.
As a young man he moved to the mainland U.S.A. and has lived here ever
since.
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Caucus for Barack Obama |
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I was born in 1932 in the heart of the Great Depression. As a young
school girl in Iowa, I experienced WWII with women working in defense
plants, we children gathering milkweed, Mom knitting khaki sweaters and
mittens, wrapping bandages, cousins fighting, yes, and dying for Peace
on Earth. I can still feel the pride and patriotism I felt then and
feel now, each time I think of or pray for our fighting men and women
sacrificing so much today.
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