Viewpoints

“Be strong, fear not!”

This is a critical line in a scripture passage from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: “[Thus says the Lord] Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing.” Isaiah 35:4-6a

I want to share with you some thoughts on these words from God through Isaiah. 1) This scripture passage presents a different view of the world – the blind see, the deaf hear, the mute speak, and waters spring up in the desert … In the Kingdom of God there is freedom from fear, healing from division. I think everyone prays for this in their life. With the Lord the broken find healing and wellness; furthermore, God’s people shall be brought from brokenness to wholeness.

To the Editor:

The events of August 14 in Afghanistan have glaringly displayed that “Peter’s Principle” is running rampant in the White House.

For those of you who do not know or remember what “Peter’s Principle” is, it is as follows: “People working in a hierarchy tend to rise to their level of incompetence”. This clearly applies to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of Defense General Lloyd Austin, Joint Chief of Staff Chairman Mark Milley and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

To the Editor:

This letter is in reference to the DNR’s decision to take a “passive management” approach to Yellow River State Forest. In doing so, they have cut the hours of the park ranger at Yellow River State Forest down to only eight hours per week. There are so many reasons why this is not a good idea - the big one being safety.

It is very concerning that there will be no park ranger available to people who are utilizing the forest as there are obviously many, many things that can happen that could cause injury. If such a thing does happen, there is no cell phone service in most of the forest. The camp host now has a landline but that is one area in nearly 10,000 acres of land.

To the Editor:

We are leaving Afghanistan but we are not doing it right. We should not evacuate. We should withdraw, even if we are still there after August 31, 2021.

The French, British and Dutch have sent their own soldiers into Afghanistan to evacuate their citizens out of Afghanistan. Are we doing the same? We have great soldiers who would risk themselves to fight for a perimeter around the airport that is being controlled by the United States. Those U.S. soldiers would also evacuate American citizens and Afghan interpreters, and their families, who have helped our military effort.

Governor Kim Reynolds has decided that a number of people from Afghanistan may come to Iowa. I agree with Governor Reynolds, if they are Afghans who have helped our military effort. This would give us some redemption.

To the Editor:

Are you considering running for a seat on the Waukon City Council? Or if you knew more, would you consider running for a seat?

If you answered “yes” to either question, or even if you wish to know more about the workings of our Waukon City Council and city government, you are invited to attend an informational meeting Tuesday evening, August 31 at 6:30 p.m. at the Robey Memorial Library Community Room in Waukon.

You will have the opportunity to visit with two current councilmen and Waukon Mayor Pat Stone to learn the duties of a councilperson and other pertinent information that would be helpful to know as a potential candidate. Allamakee County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections Denise Beyer will be on hand to talk about the campaign process and timelines for filing nomination paperwork to help you get started on the campaign trail.

This will be an informal gathering and politics or current city issues will not be discussed.

To the Editor:

You promote what you permit is a piece of management advice that’s been helpful to me. By reducing the Yellow River State Forests (YRSF) park ranger position to 25%, what is the Iowa  DNR trying to promote?

A decline in reputable users of our park and forest system? YRSF is a mecca for tourism, hosting thousands of visitors a year. As word gets out that YRSF is being “passively managed”, families, people legally hunting and fishing, hikers and equestrians are going to be less likely to visit our area. This is money out of your pocket. Tourists visit our shops, get gas, groceries, hunting and fishing licenses, and enjoy local attractions, paying tax money along the way.

To the Editor:
My great-grandfather was a surgeon who attended the University of Iowa for medical school. His son-in-law, my grandfather, played football for a couple of years at the University of Iowa and was a graduate of the institution. I am even a graduate of the University of Iowa as my medical education was completed in a Family Medicine Residency that was affiliated with the University of Iowa and I proudly display the degree on my office wall.

For over 60 years, my grandfather and grandmother had season tickets to Iowa football and for about 45 years had season tickets for Iowa basketball. From the age of two or three, I could sing the Iowa Fight Song and my bedroom was decorated with Iowa gear. I started buzzing my hair off in the first grade so I could look like BJ Armstrong and Roy Marble of the Hawkeye basketball team.

To the Editor:

We have been going to Yellow River State Forest for the last 27-plus years. We have seen many, many improvements over the years, especially in the last 19 years since DNR ranger Rylan Retallick has been in charge. Not only does he make sure that the campgrounds are clean and looking nice for campers, but he takes pride in keeping the park safe.

For example, a few years ago we were camping in Creekside Equestrian Campground on Memorial Day weekend when all of a sudden someone started shooting guns. We were not but 100 yards away from where the bullets were hitting. We had kids, adults, dogs and horses taking cover. Talk about scary!

To the Editor:

The shocking extreme weather of late comes as no surprise to scientists who warned for decades that we are heading toward climate catastrophe.

“These extremes are something we knew were coming,” Christian conservative and climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe recently told the Washington Post. “The suffering that is here and now is because we have not heeded the warnings sufficiently.”

Those warnings go back to 1988 when Iowa native and then-NASA scientist Dr. James Hansen testified before Congress that “we can ascribe with a high degree of confidence a cause and effect relationship between the greenhouse effect and observed warming.’’

To the Editor:

I would like to express my sincere concern about the decision to reduce the amount of time the park ranger spends at Yellow River State Forest. As a local resident and someone who not only currently frequents the park, but also grew up going to the park, this is very concerning to me for a number of reasons.

I am worried about things getting out of control and people not treating Yellow River with respect if there is not a ranger around. My husband and I have recently returned from a trip around the U.S. spent staying at National Forest and BLM land in our camper. I saw this time and time again: When there was no ranger present, we would arrive at campsites that had trash everywhere, bullet holes on the signs, and people target shooting in places they are not supposed to.