I love talking with our Pequot Lakes community members about the need for the referendum on Feb. 8. This last week showed me that if correct information is placed into the hands of our voters, they begin to understand the need for this referendum. A group of employees at a local business were against certain aspects of the proposed renovations. The questions they had were answered and they are now advocating for this referendum. I love informed voters!
Inform yourself, inform your neighbors, and cast your own informed vote on Feb. 8!
Kelli Levenske
Pequot Lakes
A step in the right direction
I’m not a particularly “political” person. And I don’t have a lot of extra money to throw around. But I have three daughters in the Pequot Lakes public schools and I’ve heard about and have seen some of the concerns that our middle-level and high school face. Gym classes are being held in the lunchroom. Lunches are being eaten in the hallways. Classrooms are being created from spaces that have no business being classrooms. Nobody wants to pay more property tax. But we should be willing to do our share to give our kids the proper facilities to learn in.
With the tax base we have in our district, paying a little bit more each year shouldn’t be a hardship for most taxpayers. Is the referendum a magic wand that will instantly put the district in the top tier? No, but I think it’s a step in the right direction. I plan to vote “yes” on Feb. 8.
Michael Glover
Pequot Lakes
Why it’s happening
Today is the day after the shootings in Tucson that killed six people and left a congresswoman fighting for her life. As always I was appalled by this senseless act and I wanted to run for my keyboard and express my outrage. But common sense tells me this is a weekly event in this sick country and it is getting worse by the day.
There have always been sporadic instances of this kind of behavior, because in our society there have always been people who were out of their minds enough to do this. Just not on the scale we are seeing right now.
Contentious issues are always around and always have been. That is part of what a democracy is all about, being able to disagree? But prudent people disagree peacefully and promote their causes without violence. So what has changed to make this kind of behavior so prevalent? Well here are a few things I can think of.
We are an increasingly militant country. Not only in our attitude about world policy but on the streets of our big cities. More and more people are solving their problems with violence. Take away the guns? Impossible, for many reasons. Arm everyone? The congresswoman owned a handgun, just like the one that shot her. A lot of good it did her. If someone wants to shoot you bad enough you will get shot unless they give you a heads up.
We teach our kids violence in many forms. Television, video games, movies and online. The things that used to calm us and teach us right from wrong, like religion, have been pushed out of our lives. They're just no fun anymore. Yes we are reaping what we sow and I doubt it's going to stop anytime soon.
Mike Holst
Crosslake
What it’s worth to me
On Feb. 8 residents of the Pequot Lakes School District will get the opportunity to vote on the proposed capital bond referendum.
So what is the referendum worth? There is a document on the district’s website that shows charts comparing the cost of the proposed referendum to other things that people frequently buy. For $100,000 of residential property value, the referendum will cost $1.91 per month. This means that for the amount my own property taxes will increase each month, I could buy a bottle of fingernail polish, or I could buy an alcoholic beverage, or I could buy one fast food meal. Or instead of buying one of those things, I could support the education of more than 1,600 students in this school district.
To me education represents hope.Hope for strengthening our community. Hope for our children to be well prepared to enter the labor force. Hope for the children of this school district to have a bright future where they have opportunities and can make choices about what profession they would like to be in, rather than having to just take whatever they can get because they don’t have enough education and skills for the best jobs.
Education and hard work are how I “pulled myself up by my bootstraps,” so to speak. I want my child to be well educated so that he doesn’t have to struggle in his future. I want my child to be able to have the education he needs to reach his dreams. Whether or not this bond referendum passes will have a huge impact on my child’s education and therefore on his future. My child means everything to me. So what is this referendum worth to me? To me this referendum is worth everything.
Please vote yes Feb. 8!
Kathy Gilchrist
Pequot Lakes
Comments (44)
Add commentDid I miss something?
Wasn't it your local, former politician Carrie Ruud who pushed a nifty piece of legislation saying that "cabin" owners did not have to pay for schools on their property taxes? You know, Carrie, she's a high dollar real estate agent who sells those million dollar "cabins". No conflict there.
libs...
When the libs stick there hands in our pockets they always say it is just gonna be a little bit of money. just a dollar here, a dollar there. but it adds up and after awhile they have siphoned off all your cash for the lib agenda. so the kids have to sit in the hallway eating lunch huh. man, when i was in school i would have loved to have had a nice warm hallway to sit in! all we had was a wood stove and we had to shove logs into it's opening kinda like the libs are shoving yet another tax increase down our throats. we is all so tired of the schools and there liberal agenda and you cant even pray to the Lord our God in class any more even though that is garenteed in the constitution of the United States!
Lets vote this puppy down, the kids will stay have a nice warm hallway to sit in goggling down our tax supported hot lunches and sent a message too. Time to get back to the basics, the so-called "3 R's" (so called because its reading, riting and rithmatic), home economics, creationism in the science classrooms, plus I say add some classes on proper care and mayntaynence of guns and firearms.
No more lib agenda! We have had it up to hear with the democrat party and there evil liberal taxes!
DNTMG
lids
do not take my gun,
Amen,we do not need any more fluff!!!!!!!!!!!
DNTMG
Really, you feel that children having classes in rooms not designed for teaching is okay? That eating in a hallway is acceptable? Just because you received your education differently doesn't mean that things haven't improved since.
Maybe instead of sitting on this website and posting your comments, you should show up and ask for a tour around the facility and see what this is all about. See if the way these students are being asked to learn is acceptable, maybe even offer some input to the principal on ways to make improvements without having a referendum. If they don't like your input, then by all means come on back to the website and post your negative comments.
From what I have read, the current classrooms are full and the school district is anticipating much larger classes in the next few years. Sure, they can get by on what they have for one maybe two years, but they will be forced to come back to the public twice each year until something can be worked out.
Also DNTMG, if you don't like the way the school is teaching the students, try and get elected to the school board.
Tour the school
Suspended makes a good point about taking a tour of the school to see the issues for yourself. The school district is holding an informational meeting tonight at 6:00pm in the Pequot Lakes Middle/High School Gathering Room. I heard that part of this meeting will include a tour of the facility to see some of the issues they are facing that need to be fixed. If you cannot make it to the informational meeting tonight, you can contact the school district's office at 218-568-4996. They are willing to arrange for people to tour the school.
dntmg
You have convinced me to vote FOR the PL Referendum. You must be 100 years old to remember heating schools with wood. Thanks for reminding me why our kids deserve better.
Wood
He must not be from around here. We used coal!
LifeLongResident
LLR is so old they hadn't even invented fire, when he went to school.
Herc
I will try to find out. Pine Center closed in the late 70s I believe, but that had 3 classrooms and a closet for the library.
PS
I would bet that Historyhound would know about the schools. Someone wake him up!
Have no fear, Mr. Holst. Things are right on track...?
You summarized your forum submission with the following:
"The things that used to calm us and teach us right from wrong, like religion, have been pushed out of our lives. They're just no fun anymore. Yes we are reaping what we sow and I doubt it's going to stop anytime soon."
Doesn't the bible tell us this will undoubtedly happen? Is this societal status not prophesied as an indicator of "the end times"? I would think a religious believer would be encouraged by this trend. Besides, why try to change or prevent what god has told you would happen. Have a little faith, brother; their time is coming (as also prophesied).
"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur" Revelation 21:8
Oh... to be back in the days when "sporadic instances of this kind of behavior" were the norm, not the exception, like the dark ages... wait, no. How about the times of christ? Um, that obviously won't do, they did crucify the son of god for the love of... (dang-it). How about when slavery was as normal as owning a car or when women were worth slightly more than a slave but half as much as a man (at best)? Oh, I got it, the days of the wild west! Nope, too many guns. It'll come to me.
Surely there was point in human history that was much more peaceful and "sane" then this current immoral, violent, "hell in a handbasket" society we're all forced to deal with; isn't there?
What era specifically were you referring to, Mike?
There is no agenda related to a political party
There is no agenda related to a political party in the Pequot Lakes bond referendum. If the referendum passes, the facilities improvements will benefit the children of Republicans, the children of Democrats, and the children of people affiliated with any other political party. If the referendum passes, the facilities improvements will even benefit the children of people who might have voted against the referendum, and therefore against a good education for their very own children and for all of the other children in the district. The school board was elected by the public to serve the children, and that is what they are doing.
Children of Democrats
Well, I pity the children of the democrat party and i know that what helps parents the most is to keep the gubmint out of our pocketbook. a little bit for reading, riting and rithmatic, maybe. but what good if we have the fancy rooms and the administraitors with there bloated waistful spending and big salaries. I thing that we need to keep the taxes down. NOt to mention the godlessness in school today. the first amendment in addition to the second and possibly the third which are about different matters. that is right, the right to keep and bear arms and never taken away.
i dont know what you are talking about barnet, when i read what you had to say i just scratched my head and said to myself, "that boy don't unnderstand this at all".
I am just a concerned citizen and i am tired of the lib democrat party and there lib agenda and tired of paying taxes here, taxes there, taxes everywhere. it is time for the people to stand up and take a stand.
as for the other question, do i want students in rooms that were not suposed to be classrooms. who care? I thing that there is not much too it really, if you have a room and a place to sit and pay attentaion any room can be a classroom. as for the hallway, well if it is warm and well lit and comfortable what the heck is wrong with having lunch their? I thing that lots of folks around the world and that includeds children too would be thriled to have a warm hallway to sit in instead of the cold wet rainy or muddy places (for example, monsoons or tornadoes).
There is no reason to keep jacking up our taxes when there is no need, more people need to look at home schooling, we need more pracitabable thinks in school such as animal husbandry, home economics, gun safety, and for heavens sake we need prayer.
The governer of Alabama hit that nail right on the head, we are not brothers and sisters unless we are all born again and washed in the blood of the holy spirit, and thus the citizens in alabama (and everywhere) needs to be christians. we live in a godless country but what do you aspect with the president himself who is a Muslim? and not even born in this country for that matter.
DNTMG
If ever there was a reason
Just by reading your comments DNTMG, it gives me hope that people that might have been against this referendum would look at your ramblings and realize, wow we do need to better educate our students or they may end up writing like this. You enjoy taking every topic you write about and turning it into something that it is not. You don't care if students have classrooms that are adequate, fine, then vote against it, but as I asked you, have you bothered to tour the facility? I would guess not, you would prefer to just write about your worry that someone is going to take your guns, which has nothing to do with the referendum.
By the way, if you want to continue to state what you believe in is supported by the constitution, please cite where it is written, not what amendment it is covered by, please use the actual words in the constitution, since you are confused by which amendment actually protects your weapons in the first place.
dntmg
Still trying to fool us that you are an illiterate conservative. Fess up...you are a teacher.
Dear Mr Suspended,
I am talking about the first amendment which establishes that the US of A is a christian country where are rights to workship the lord are not taken away from the people by the gubmint!
And yes, gubmint is a perfect correct spelling because many of my buddies here confirm it.
As for what the schools, we have gotten mislead by the lib agenda to take away our first amendment rights to worship the lord and that includes in school too by prayer and bible study (King James Version, the Holy Bible). I guess we cant be suprised with a muslim president but we need to listen careful to fine americans such as sarah palin and for the governer of alabama, just look at his comments and you see at least in some of our red states we are heading back to what the constitution wants for us. Read what the governer had to say, maybe if you stop listenign to libs you will "get it"!
Let us make minnesota red as all states must be. time to put the libs out once adn for all!
DNTMG
ptweed...task, task
NO way, jose. what the heck? this is so frustraing. i am just a concern citizan tired of having my pocket picked by the gobmint. i am so sick of taxes hear, taxes there, it never seems to end!
DNTMG
Suspended, I can not see what
Suspended,
I can not see what DNTMG wrote, as I hit "ignore user" on him a while back, but you should know that he/she is just a troll pretending to be an ignorant, uneducated conservative Bible thumper. Just trying to stir up ire, hate and bigotry. But isn't that the liberal way anyhow?
Suspended, I can not see what
Suspended,
I can not see what DNTMG wrote, as I hit "ignore user" on him a while back, but you should know that he/she is just a troll pretending to be an ignorant, uneducated conservative, Bible thumper. Just trying to stir up ire, hate and bigotry. But isn't that the liberal way anyhow?
Liberal way, yeah that is the pot calling the kettle for sure!
Well Mr. Wolfman,
You are a typical lib, shutting your mind off and not opening the mind to history and the thinks that made america strong. it is just like a lib to be so spiteful as you. i suppose you are a rich man and taxes dont bother you but i can tell you, sir, that when a country gives up on it's citizens by taxing us to death, that that is the first step to socialism, then nazi-ism. For example look how high taxes got before hitler. So it is time for uss to stand up.
The second and third amendments give us the right to fight back and we need to keep that in mind, when a country takes away it's citizen right to bear arms, that is the first step. i am not a gun nut but we need to know that the guns and arming of america makes us safer, sir. if you were not such a lib you would know this, but then just like a person of the so-called "democrat party" you close your mind to the truth!
Dont worry plenty of us will be here to protect you when the gubmint comes for us. we wont go down without a fight!
DNTMG
Huh?
First amendment is as follows, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
So you would like to have the Lord worshiped in school? That is what private school is for and if parents feel that is important, then great, I went to a private Catholic school because my parents wanted that to be a part of my education. That does not mean that is should take place in public school, because who decides what is worshiped? The teachers, the principal? It is not the place for worship, that is what church is for. The first amendment protects that right, but it does not force it into the schools.
Job Killing
This will be a job killing bill too. It is the first step to socialism, which is one step removed from nazism. it needs to be stoped!
DNTMG
dntmg
Medicare is a government managed medical system as is the Veteran's Administration. And most of us are very pleased with them. So we already have socialized medicine, and it serves most of us better than what we had to pay for before. So don't even think of touching our Medicare and VA.
And the last time I checked, the electoral system gives you the legal means to express yourself and change your representation.
And btw...socialism and nazism are not the same thing nor are they even similar.
Fess up, you are a troll from the democratic party.
ejykashun
I Love It! Comments by dntmg are the most knee-slapping stuff I think I've ever heard...great entertainment. I refuse to believe he is for real, otherwise I would be crying, not lmfao.
Response to Do_Not_Take_My_Gun's comment
I assume this 'bill' you are referring to is the Pequot Lakes school district's bond referendum. A bill is a statute in draft form before it becomes law. What the vote on February 8th is about is not a law, it is a capital bond referendum. And you say that it will kill jobs, when in fact quite the opposite is true. Better education creates jobs. Businesses locate where there is the base of workers that they need. Our kids need a good education in order to be desirable job candidates in the future. If we vote against the referendum and therefore let the quality of our school district slide downhill, we will lose jobs from our community.
Jda and Ptweed, No reason to get personel
When I read what Jda and Ptweed has to say to me, I said to myself, "Oh, my lord above, what in the heck"? I thought there was rules against herassmant on this web sight. This is really upsetting to me. I NEVER had no one call me a so-called "democrat" before. That is sick and disguing. Ugh.
I can tell you for sure, I am not a member of the democrat party. To go to it's conclusion and the fact of the entertainment. To say the democrat party and it's people and the value of honest debate.
As for nazism and socialism, I thing the folks on this web sight need to read there history. Adolf Hitler was a democrat. If you do not beleive me, read about it here:
http://www.arguewitheveryone.com/general-political-discussion/15247-hitl...
There is no doubt as michalel obama said that the goverment takeover of health care is the crown jewel in the socialist agenda taking over this country.
We are on a clear coarse to socialism if not already there already. Next step: nazism, read it and weep.
DNTMG
I had the wrong michele
Sorry buddies, I typed michele obama and i meant michele bachman. And NO WAY JOSE I know what jda and ptweed will say, that it was a so-called "Freundian slip". NOt true. Not to mention that even the idea of that is unnatural, either way.
I hope Michele bachmann and Sarah Palin can not fight with each other. For the good of the republican party it's peoples must work to gether to stop this nazism.
DNTMG
Dear Ms. Web (note that "web" rhyme with "lib"), needs schooling
When I read what you wrote Ms. Web, I said to myself, "that reminds me of that old song, baby you needs schooling, and baby I'm not fooling".
When I say schooling i mean economics and not the so-called "ivory tower" type that is learnt just from books (can anyone say, "professor obummer", who never had a real job in the real world?) but the schooling that comes from running an honest business, for example such as the speaker of the house john boener.
So you wonder, what is this good old boy trying to say? I am trying to say that it is a JOB KILLING BILL sweetie. It is just like the job killing bill for health care reform. pass that bill and you have all sorts of jobs lost, lobbyists for health care companies etc. Not to mention the taxes that will choke the small businessman.
It is the same way in Pequot. How can we expect small businessman. Those what would thing about moving here, they will be scared away fast by the job killing choaking effect of the taxes. This is exactly what hitler tried to do and did do with some sucess and what greater evil in the history of the world? I rest my case.
Jack up taxes on this bill, that will kill off what small business is left, and then you have nothing, no tax base. No business = no jobs. No jobs = no schools. No schools = no families, town just dies off, becomes ghoast town such as all over the midwest.
I dont want to see pequot lakes dissolve into history. Vote for this bill and you see the end of the schools, end of the economy, shove taxes down our throat to the point where there is nothing left and the drainage from the swamp and the ice buildup on the unplowed street.
DNTMG
Response to Do_Not_Take_My_Gun's comments
Do_Not_Take_My_Gun, your ignorant and hateful comments never cease to amaze me. You can't even quote Led Zepplin correctly. The lyrics you're referring to are actually "You need coolin', baby, I'm not foolin', I'm gonna send you back to schoolin'." You should find out what you are talking about before you start talking, or typing.
Response to barnet69's comment
Barnet69, I do not spend all day on this website. I responded at the time I read the comments made by Do_Not_Take_My_Gun.