Open Forum: Young people needed on city council

Congratulations to Jim Wallin for vetoing the coffee roasting point in the recent ordinance.

A friend returned to Brainerd after 25 years and noted that some of the same folks are serving on city council. Maybe time for a fresh start. And speaking of fresh, let's talk fresh roasted coffee. City planning cited the former Chopper's location as a B-2 zoned establishment. Which would you prefer? Greasy smells from a kitchen fryer at a restaurant or fresh roasted coffee smells?

The younger generation like fresh roasted coffee and they are the future of Brainerd. Maybe it is time for some younger folks to get on city council and support a mayor who appears to be trying to entice new establishments, jobs and younger people to the community. I live within 100 feet of Matty's on Gull and I have never objected to the smells from that fine establishment. Matty's is clearly a sign of a young person creating businesses and jobs, even though all three locations are outside of the Brainerd city limits. Keep it up Matt Walsh.

And I proudly sign my name. No hiding behind Vox Pop for me!

Peter Mann

Lake Shore

It's all a shell game

The White House said that the economic stimulus created or saved more than 14,000 jobs in Minnesota. Bull! It's a shell game. The Democrats took charge of Congress and the Senate in 2006 and have been in control ever sense. They complained that Bush was cutting taxes, they could have stopped him. If we are in debt it is because they wanted us in debt. At any time they could have constructed a bill raising taxes and sent it to President Bush. He would have vetoed it and if they could have gotten enough votes they could have overridden it but that would have been politically incorrect so they didn't even try. Now that they have their politically correct man in as president, and can do anything they want, they still haven't raised taxes.

What the Democrats have done is find a way to spend taxes even before they pass a law to collect them. They borrowed the money from China. This is a form of deferred taxation. No new businesses have been formed with this stimulus money. They spent it as if it were a new tax, so after the money has been spent, all of the public service jobs that have been created will be lost due to lack of funding and we still have to pay China back.

Only people that do not understand that there is no free lunch think this is the way to do business. If anyone thinks you can spend your way into prosperity I have a proposition for you. You give me unlimited cash to spend and as soon as I am independently wealthy I will split the profits with you. Thank you.

Clyde DeBolt

Backus

Do nothing at this time

I was impressed with the Brainerd school forum held Tuesday at Forestview Middle School. It was obvious the school board and administrators had done their homework and the public was very much involved in sharing opinions. Many of the speakers supporting the first two options (re-opening Whittier Elementary School) wanted their "little school" back since it's been closed for two years. Therein lies the problem, as I see it.

A famous politician years ago was criticized for voting for (the Iraq war) before he voted against it. I'm afraid our local school board will be criticized for voting for Whittier's re-opening after voting to close it! I believe they need to revisit the reasons for their original decision. Also, maybe it's time some people give up the notion of having their own little neighborhood school, which is obviously inefficient and very expensive to operate, in favor of looking at the broader picture of our school district's financial position.

In a time when we have over 10 percent unemployment and many people losing their homes as well as the 50 percent of us investors who have lost money in the stock market, I believe the district needs to ride it out and do nothing at this time (option No. 5). Who knows what the future may hold, not only for attendance but for the economy? As Steve Lund, director of district business services stated at the meeting, "We don't know what the state funding will be as well as what happens when our current school levy expires." Also, according to your paper of Nov. 17, teacher and other staff have not settled on a wage and salary contract. I think there are too many financial unknowns at this point for the board to take on prohibitive additional costs.

Jim Erickson

East Gull Lake