Ok, I realize North Dakota has had a few ‘wetness’ problems in the last few years, but so has Moorhead and the other areas of Minnesota. But the ENTIRE state of North Dakota has fewer than a million people in total population —and that’s including every new person in the western areas of the Bakken Oil country, plus each and every man, woman and child, plus various pets, for Pete’s sake!
So I ask, how is it that the state of North Dakota, sitting on a ka-jillion –billion dollars in their state coffers, wrangles $276 million from the federal highway department? Seriously? Somehow the outrageous amounts of money given to a state to build highways and infrastructure leading to washed- out roads and rebuilding bridges for a few thousand people to use and cross seems a tad over the top, doesn’t it?
I have no problem with funding projects that are in dire need of repair or replacement, particularly when there are thousands of lives in need for the roads to be repaired. But when a state like North Dakota, with its very small population, can expect to receive a QUARTER of the entire federally funded allocations from the allotted budget for the entire country? Man—someone needs to march on St. Paul’s Capitol and ask, “WHERE’S OURS?”
Moorhead has been in desperate need of another underpass to by-pass the never-ending succession of trains we experience daily! And tonight the City Manager and Bob Zimmerman, head of Moorhead’s City Engineering Department, announced that our funding application for a recent attempt to reconstruct 21st Street has been denied. So once again, in the spring perhaps, they will reapply. In the meantime, North Dakota receives enough money to rebuild highways undoubtedly used by far fewer people in six months than the Moorhead residents and commercial trucks of all sizes cruising Main and 21st Street see in a month! If someone on the North Dakota side can explain how the heck that works, I would certainly like to hear the explanation.
I’m with Ron Paul when he chants his mantra: THE SPENDING HAS GOT TO STOP! If North Dakota wants to restructure its highways and build diversions –great. Go for it. North Dakota is certainly entitled to a small portion of the federal highway funds. After that? Try using some of your own state money.
THEY ARE A VALUED ASSET—GET IT STRAIGHT!
I don’t care what your religion is, how high falutin’ you think your “morals” are, or what your politics are, if you have half a brain in your head and can read even fundamentally, it should be no secret by now what a totally valued asset Planned Parenthood Health Centers are for everyone. Why? They offer clinical PREVENTIVE health care services for cancer screening, breast health exams, PAP smears that women of all ages need, in particular women who are in low wage paying jobs and without health insurance. Testing for STD’s and pregnancy are only two of the many health care services offered at Planned Parenthood. And yes, they offer counseling and birth control methods as well. For that, every tax payer the area should be grateful. Do you really want more teenagers having babies they cannot afford? Do you really want more teenage girls quitting school and having to go on assistance —paid by YOUR tax dollars? Well, I sure don’t. Get a grip, people. This is 2012. Not 1945 or even 1965. Until a lot in society changes, teenagers are going to experiment and have sex. It’s a fact of life, so we and they may as well be as prepared for it as we possibly can be. Don’t knock the one place, PLANNED PARENTHOOD, that can at the very least decrease the possibility of teenage girls getting pregnant with an unwanted, ill-prepared-for child that society—that’s you and I– will probably end up paying for until it’s 18. For more information about Planned Parenthood, call 800-230-PLAN or go online and check out www.ppmns.org/onlinehealthcenter.
SPEED ENFORCEMENT COVERING THE FRONT AND BACK
A new speed measuring device provided by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety is giving Clay County deputies much better equipment to identify vehicles driving at illegal and unsafe speeds. The Clay County Sheriff’s department is one of only nine law enforcement agencies in Minnesota being awarded a Stalker mobile traffic radar unit for participating in the Towards Zero Deaths enforcement effort that took place during the month of July 2011.
The dual-antenna feature of Clay County’s new radar allows the officer to check the speed of the vehicles behind the squad car, as well as those in front of it. The unit is a “state of the art” radar which will compliment Clay County’s current traffic enforcement equipment inventory.
Towards Zero Deaths is a statewide and national law enforcement campaign designed to increase seat belt and child seat use, and decrease the incidence of impaired driving & speeding.
The radar will be presented to the Clay County Sheriff’s Dept. at the regular Clay County Commissions meeting on January 10, 2011.
Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for Minnesotans usually considered too young to die – those between one and thirty-four years of age.
Sheriff Bill Bergquist explains, “It’s impossible to tell exactly how many or whose lives are saved when we emphasize traffic enforcement;” he continued, “the result is a crash that doesn’t happen. We just know it changes drivers’ behaviors – people buckle up, slow down, and don’t drive impaired.”
Tom Kummrow, Law Enforcement Liaison with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, said “Clay County Sheriff’s Department is receiving this radar in recognition of their commitment to enforcing traffic laws every day, not just when we’re able to pay for overtime hours. This is so important to upholding the motto “to protect and serve” – it keeps our families complete and our friends healthy.”
The Clay County Sheriff’s Department is currently a partner on a Towards Zero Deaths enforcement grant with the Moorhead Police Department and all other Police Departments in Clay County. The grant provides overtime funds to place officers on the roads of Clay County.
For questions and comments to Soo, email: sooasheim@aol.com or call 218-233-8604.