Viewpoints

by State Representative Patti Ruff

by Pastor Duane Smith

To the Editor:
God is Good! When we can celebrate life and birthdays together as we did October 25, life becomes so very beautiful.
Thank you for all you are doing to make the Driftless Area Visitor Center become a reality. Northeast Iowa, our wonderful home, will be blessed and the generations to follow us will thank us for embellishing this God-given area with this center.
Love you, love you.

Msgr. Ed Lechtenberg
Lansing

To the Editor:
On October 21, 2015 I heard our Vice President, Joe Biden, speak. No truer words were ever spoken - equality, fairness, respect and dignity. I did not hear him say “honesty,” but if these other actions were implemented we would not need to worry about honesty, would we?
Equality, fairness, respect and dignity need to start right at home, with the city, county, state, all the way to our federal government.
We vote for those who should treat all as equals; it should not matter if we are a home owner or a large company. The equality, fairness, respect and dignity should apply to each and every one, so what about the control coming from others - those we did not vote for?
A short time ago, someone told me that they would put their hand on a Bible. There is no meaning on the cover; the meaning is what is in the pages, between the covers. I am not saying I know the Bible, but I do know the meaning of equality, fairness, respect and dignity.

To the Editor:
What’s going on when all of a sudden it seems like folks just don’t “see” you?  You know, I’m talking about those times when people pretend they don’t recognize you or are busy doing something else. The fact is they may not see anything different about you, but they have heard you have an illness.
I enjoy approaching folks ignoring me and simply saying hello. Typical responses include, “Oh, I didn’t expect to see you here!”  Or, “I was going to stop by, but I didn’t know when would be a good time.” My personal favorite, “Hey, good to see you. I was wondering how are you really doing?”

by State Senator Mike Breitbach

I haven’t gotten back into my normal newsletter routine yet but I wanted to reconnect as we come up on the holidays and start to gear up for the start of the next legislative session.
It was good to be able to talk to many of you at the fairs, various parades and other activities that took place over the summer. I was able to meet with almost all of the presidential candidates as they traveled through Iowa. Some in Iowa see this as a curse but I enjoy the opportunity of being able to actually meet and visit with the candidates.  
We will be able to start submitting bills for consideration for the upcoming session soon. If you have legislation you would like to see proposed or something you feel we should address, please let me know so we can get started on it. Legislative forums will start soon and I will try and keep you posted as we schedule them. As always if you have any questions feel free to contact me.

by Dick Schilling, Editor Emeritus

by Rev. Steve Oden

To the Editor:
A couple of years ago we sent an insurance payment to Farm Bureau and it took over 30 days to get to Des Moines.
This year we sent a letter to a magazine company and they haven’t received it yet.
In July we lost our great-grandson; a couple of weeks later we wrote our granddaughter, who lives on the outskirts of Lansing, and she hasn’t received that letter yet.
Back in the old days the Pony Express was faster.
Good luck with your mail.

Earl Jones
Harpers Ferry

P.S. The junk mail to Harpers Ferry goes through.
 

To the Editor:
I have spent my whole life on the farm and it’s clear to me that farming will always be a part of me and my family. As a third generation farmer, conservation is very important to me to make sure the next generation or the one after that will have the same soils to farm with as I have had. Terraces have been installed over the years to reduce soil erosion. Grass waterways have been repaired and added where they are needed as well. Taking care of the soil that we depend on to produce crops has always been a part of my farming practice.

Dustin Byrnes
Dorchester