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Your View - letters to the editor
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Elks Bridge is meant to look 'industrial' |
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Friday, 22 January 2010 |
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By Dennis Stillings
Valley City When our city government turns its attention to aesthetic matters such as how to paint the Elks Bridge, it is time to duck, cover and dive into the Bad Taste Bomb Shelter.
A “brighter color” would be – to put it kindly – inappropriate. The reason the bridge looks “kind of industrial” is because that is precisely how it was built. Its very character is “industrial.” Using the basic principle of “truth to materials,” it should be painted “industrial” and not some frou-frou “look at me” tones.
One of the many top-notch color experts in Barnes County suggests a “dark, oxidized bronze” look. Send my consultant fee to a Haiti aid organization. |
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US Economy: Bipartisan effort needed to fix national crisis |
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Thursday, 21 January 2010 |
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By Bruce Berg
Bismarck
In announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, Gov. John Hoeven criticized the increase in the national debt under President Barack Obama, saying, “The federal government just isn’t working anymore. The deficits and federal debt are just out of control.”
Gov. Hoeven is absolutely right. America’s finances are a mess. But let’s be honest, it is not right to try to blame the nation’s deficit and debt on President Obama. He’s been in office for one year, and when he took office last January, he already faced a sea of red ink.
It’s the historical record. As a result of the Bush administration’s policies, America’s deficit grew to more than $1 trillion last year. Under Bush, our debt grew from $5.7 trillion to $10.6 trillion. Remember, former Vice President Dick Cheney famously uttered, “Deficits don’t matter.”
President Bush was financing two wars. However, he only made the situation worse by pushing two huge tax cuts through Congress. The surpluses built up by President Bill Clinton’s deficit-reduction package went up in smoke in President Bush’s first year in office.
The root of President Bush’s spending habits can be traced back to President Ronald Reagan, who took office in 1981 with about $1 trillion in debt. This debt had accumulated over the previous 205 years. The Gipper soon instituted a mix of tax cuts and deregulation – known as Reaganomics – and while it helped revive America’s competitiveness, it also set our nation down its current dangerous fiscal path.
Reagan ingrained in the American people the fairy tale that “deficits don’t matter.” He left office with a national debt of about $2.6 trillion. In his eight years in office, America had moved from being the world’s largest international creditor to the world’s largest debtor nation.
Some may argue that President Obama has not learned a lesson from history. Others would argue that the spending was necessary to head off a complete economic collapse.
So here we are. What do we do now?
In his speech announcing his Senate run, candidate Hoeven offers the traditional GOP rhetoric, saying, “We need to hold the line on taxes and reduce the tax burden” to grow our economy.
But is that a real solution? How do you pay for necessary programs, reduce America’s deficit and debt and cut taxes? The truth is you can’t. That formula will simply place the burden on future generations, which will finance the spending and tax cuts of today.
What we need is a level-headed, honest approach to tackling what will soon become America’s greatest challenge.
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., has offered a sensible solution. He and Sen. Judd Gregg, a Republican from New Hampshire, have teamed to introduce the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action Act. The proposal creates a powerful bipartisan commission to deal with the country’s fiscal mess. The plan would bring together lawmakers from both parties to come up with recommendations to Congress for spending cuts and tax reform.
Sen. Conrad summed it up best, saying this is a challenge that requires us to come together, Republicans and Democrats, to create a bipartisan solution that will secure American’s economic strength and our future!
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 21 January 2010 )
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Talk about your typical politician |
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Wednesday, 20 January 2010 |
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By Dennis Hogan
Fargo I am confused. Which Kevin Cramer am I supposed to believe? The Kevin Cramer who claims he is running for Congress based on a principled stand? Or, the Kevin Cramer who just last week admitted he was making a political calculation to run for Congress?
He has been a candidate for office for less than a week and he is already talking out of both sides of his mouth. Talk about your typical politician!
What I want is to keep Congressman Earl Pomeroy in the U.S. House. Nobody works harder on the powerful Ways and Means Committee to protect North Dakota’s hospitals and support our local energy businesses than Congressman Pomeroy.
And, no one fights harder for our farmers and ranchers on the Agriculture Committee than Congressman Pomeroy, as evidenced by his role as a lead negotiator of the 2008 Farm Bill.
For me, the choice is simple. Re-elect Congressman Pomeroy! |
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No one wants what Cramer's selling |
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Wednesday, 20 January 2010 |
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By Joshua A. Boschee
Fargo It looks like Kevin Cramer has wasted no time to try and deceive North Dakotans.
You know, most politicians usually wait a while before they start the double-talk, but not Kevin Cramer. Does he really think we forget what people say only a week before?
Of course, Kevin Cramer wants us to believe he is running for Congress because of a principled stand. But here’s the truth. Just last week he admitted that he was making a political calculation regarding his candidacy.
We better watch out, or Kevin Cramer might just try to sell us some ocean-front property in Arizona. Thanks, but no thanks! |
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Pioneer’s amphitheater history worth preserving |
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Tuesday, 19 January 2010 |
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By Lowell Busching
Valley City
I would like to make some further comments on a local issue, especially after the front-page article in Friday’s Times-Record concerning the City Park Band Shell (“Staging a rescue”).
It was discussed in a recent column by Joe Demasi. The amphitheater at Pioneer Park, below the rock sign for that park, I believe has far less chance of being salvaged than the Band Shell but also is deserving of consideration by the city for historical reasons.
The biggest difference, as was brought out in the Friday article on the Band Shell, is that the Band Shell has indeed been in constant use, other than this last summer when it was declared unsafe after the flood damage, for as long as most of us can remember. It had been in use since I was a child in Valley City, and has seen considerable use, at least one day a week in the summer, since I returned. It is a city institution that I think everyone is at least aware of.
The stone amphitheater, presumably the only one in the state, in Pioneer Park in an easily accessible area in the northwest part of Valley City is virtually unknown by many residents. It is hard or impossible to see from the nearby streets!
It was apparently built as part of the Works Progress Administration projects in Valley City in the mid- and late 1930s. These included the now largely unused Audie, or City Auditorium.
Despite more than 70 years of almost total neglect and relative lack of use by the arts and performances people in Valley City, this unique amphitheater is still in remarkably good shape overall! What relatively little deterioration there is of the stonework was likely caused by the climate rather than vandals, a testament to how well it was built. It is also historical and should not go to waste or possible destruction like so many other edifices in Valley City.
Rumor has it that if they had the funds to do anything with it, the Park Board would prefer to either take out the structure or cover it over and use it for a toboggan site for winter use only! There are any number of hills in or near Valley City that could be, and have been, used for that purpose.
As Joe pointed out, during a recent presentation at the local Kiwanis Club where he spoke at my request, an effort by volunteers, primarily, could put this venue back in condition to be used temporarily until the Band Shell is renovated for continued events by the college arts department.
After the Band Shell is functional again, as Joe has also pointed out, it could be used in the summer months as an alternative site for events. The stone “benches” are wide enough to allow the public to bring their own pads, but with a far better view and sound acoustics.
I hope the Park Board and the city will show some restraint in removing any more of the historical places in the city and replacing them with even less attractive alternatives. Like the currently unused mall building on Central Avenue or more modern ones like the current Wells Fargo building. The buildings they replaced were classics. Many of those remaining have been covered up with false facades. Removal of the trees in the downtown area, due to disease, and no set plans to replace them, apparently, has lead to a very nondescript- and bare-looking downtown area.
The City of Cement lives. The old Valley City does not. We are not Fargo and never will be. |
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Love and kindness of community strong |
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Tuesday, 19 January 2010 |
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By Beth and Ted Weshnevski
Tower City We are grateful to St. Bernard’s Parish, the Tower City community, area businesses, family and friends for their generosity and for hosting and attending the benefit on Sunday.
We could feel the love and kindness of the community. Thank you all for a wonderful day. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 19 January 2010 )
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Hospital, clinic staff give fantastic help |
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Monday, 18 January 2010 |
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By Phyllis Lemer
Valley City After my recent hospitalization in Valley City, I became aware how fortunate we are to have our little hospital. I couldn’t have received better care while there.
Nurse practitioner Greg Pfennig and Dr. Brad Braunagel gave me a very thorough exam to diagnose the problem and got things under control while consulting with my surgeon in Fargo.
The staff at the clinic and hospital were outstanding, from the X-ray technicians to the nurses and staff on the second floor. What a fantastic team!
I must also remember the people in the kitchen. The food was always attractively presented, very tasty and piping hot.
God bless all these wonderful people. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 18 January 2010 )
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