Opinion

From Tom Benson
Hutchinson
To all my anti-hunting friends, you are missing the point if you think hunting is just about the killing of game.

An editorial from today’s Litchfield Independent Review

Greenleaf State Recreation Area is officially more than just a dream.

From Mayor Steve Cook
Hutchinson

As much as I respect LaVonne Hansen’s passion, her letters on the proposed mosquito levy and city budgeting warrant a response. Failure to do so does a disservice to the public, the Hutchinson City Council and city staff. The letter on the mosquito levy is particularly important to address because much of what was included was inaccurate or simply false.

Mosquito control cherry-picked:

We had no idea how readers of hutchinsonleader.com would respond when we asked them last week to complete our 14-question election poll. So we were pleasantly surprised when we received the largest number of poll answers in years. More than twice the average number of weekly poll takers responded.

Our goal was to get voters — and specifically our online readers — to think and talk more about the issues and candidates. We hoped the poll stirred them to long dinner-table discussions of issues of public importance.

From LaVonne Hansen
Hutchinson

Mayor Cook definitely did bring in improvements to Hutchinson’s 2009 budget process, such as using business consultants in the process, but it is hard to budget if you don’t have some basics. The good budget process is part of the closed loop strategic planning/budgeting system. Our city’s budgeting process has gaps that make effective cost cutting harder. There are many, many opportunities in this area. I had to pick just a few.

From Shirley Wurdell
Hutchinson

As vice president of Historic Hutchinson and the coordinator of the Living History Tour, I’d like to thank the community for the overwhelming response to our sixth annual event at Oakland Cemetery on Sunday, Sept. 21. We had guests come from as far away as Grand Forks, N.D., new local visitors and many that have been at all of our tours. It was a wonderful day.

From Paul Boor
Hutchinson

McCain offers an attractive proposal. Lower taxes. Deregulate business. Unfettered by regulations, capitalism will produce the solutions to our problems. McCain promises a litany of things: worker retraining, wage subsidies, reasonably priced health care for all, clean coal, nuclear power and “drill, baby, drill” for domestic oil. It is implied that none of this will need any impetus from government. After all, we need less government.

From Brad Engelmann
Helen Township

I demand fiscal responsibility from my elected representatives. I’m not getting it. I don’t want to vote for an incumbent who has voted for a deficit budget every year he’s been in office. I would like to see responsible tax policy.

I can’t prove global warming exists and I can’t prove climate change exists. But I sure would like to see us weaned off of foreign oil. I would like to see us encourage environmental policies that may lead to alternative sources of energy.

From Arlette Anderson
Dassel

On Oct. 1, the Star Tribune listed the New York Times “Bestseller Book List.” Among the list was “The Obama Nation,” written by Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D. This book is a must read.

EDITORIAL By Publisher Matt McMillan and Editor Doug Hanneman

Local cities and counties could see a drop in property taxes
— the main source of most operating budgets —
during the next year. We think planning for some dip is prudent.

Reader Gary Rusch recently wrote a letter to this newspaper about the government bailout of the Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage giants. He also lamented the doubling of his home’s value during the past six years. Why? Because property taxes go up each time the county increases his home’s value.