Opinions

To the editor:

A few months ago I, along with other sheriffs from the 8th District, had breakfast with Mike Gallagher. I learned more about Mike and why he is running for office.

I left more convinced than ever that Mike needs to be our next congressman, not just because of his impressive resume or the time he spent in the military protecting our country (but that definitely does leave an impression) but also because he listened to our concerns and was truly interested in the challenges facing not only Oconto County but also the 8th District, the state of Wisconsin and the nation.

Mike will be the leader that we need fighting for us going forward. I feel he will maintain a dialogue with the people of the 8th District and will serve on our behalf, not on behalf of lobbyists or special interest groups.

I also believe Mike is the best candidate to work with law enforcement in helping us to keep our communities safe.

To the editor:

John Nygren recently asserted state Republican leadership believes “taxpayer dollars should follow the student and be given to the institution that students attend that provide for the resources needed to educate that student.” Nygren’s statement clearly demonstrates the Republican Legislature’s concerted effort to shift taxpayer funds from public schools to private schools.

Nygren claimed the state’s Republican commitment “puts students at the forefront.” Unfortunately, that commitment is solely designed to destroy Wisconsin’s successful public schools and to fund private schools.

To the editor:

I’m looking froward to a very large vote in Oconto County. Don’t forget, voting is free.

Before voting on any party, think about this: We need new personnel to help repair our present broken government and eliminate all corruption that has entered our present government. All present government departments need a complete house cleaning.

Also, our Constitution of over 200 years should be off limits for any politician to alter or destroy.

Jerry Gehling,

Suring

Wow! The Cubs are in the World Series for the first time since 1945! Usually, by this time in the season, Cubs fans are chanting their “wait ‘til next year” chorus.

I often make fun of the perennial favorite team of half the Midwest, but that’s OK, because (I’m about to make an embarrassing confession) I, too, was once a Cubs fan! There, I’ve said it! I became a Cubs fan during my innocence in the ’40s.

But I have to explain; there were extenuating circumstances! When I was a little kid, there was no major league ball club in Wisconsin. Around my hometown, we had the Green Bay Bluejays, a minor league team — and the Cubs. What’s a kid to do?

In the late ’40s and early ’50s, before the Braves came to Milwaukee from Boston, all my friends and I were Cubs fans. Guys like Dutch Leonard, Johnny Klippstein, Warren Hacker, Joe Garagiola, Ernie Banks, Roy Smalley, Ralph Kiner, Hank Sauer and Phil Cavaretta were our heroes.

To the editor:

When Sen. David Hansen fled to Illinois to avoid voting on the state budget bill, he permanently lost my vote. Many voters in Northeast Wisconsin feel the same way.

After 20 years of favoring special interests instead of his constituents, it is time for David Hansen to retire. Fortunately, there is a candidate with experience, skill and dedication to limited government.

Eric Wimberger is a graduate of De Pere High School. He received an undergraduate degree in criminal justice from St. Cloud State University, where he served as student body president. After graduation, Eric drove semi-truck for Schneider National to earn money to attend law school.

Upon graduation from Marquette University Law School, Eric was commissioned in the United States Marine Corps as judge advocate, eventually reaching the rank of captain.

In 2010, Eric opened his law offices in downtown Green Bay.

To the editor:

There are many reasons not to vote for Tom Tiffany. Let’s look at two of them.

It’s hard to imagine anyone weaving a greater web of deception than Tom Tiffany did when he was peddling his iron mining bill.

Indeed, he was lying to the people of Wisconsin when he claimed that the intent of the bill was to have separate law for iron mining because it has fewer “risk factors” than other forms of mining. The real intent of Tom Tiffany’s bill was to add “risk factors” by allowing substantially greater damage to the state’s natural resources than would have been allowed under the metallic mining law. This was meant to provide a “low cost” mine for his client.

To the editor:

As a Vietnam veteran, I am writing in support of Sen. Tom Tiffany’s re-election to the Wisconsin state Senate and his efforts on behalf of veterans.

After only being in office a few months, then-Rep. Tiffany voted to provide $5 million to the veterans trust fund, the first time such an infusion from the state’s general fund had occurred since 1988. The VTF has been the main source of providing Wisconsin’s veterans and their families essential services and benefits.

Beyond the VTF, also during his first year in office, Tom voted to provide nearly $7 million, which helped to finally open the Veterans Home at Chippewa Falls. Northern Wisconsin is now home to two of Wisconsin’s three veterans homes.

To the editor:

Over the last five years of the Walker administration, Wisconsin has gone backward in almost every imaginable way. Minnesota is our kindred neighbor. At one time, we were roughly the same in most measurements. Not anymore. Minnesota has run away from us, because they did not re-enter the Dark Ages like Scott Walker’s Wisconsin did. Wisconsin citizens were evidently fooled by his son-of-a-preacher-man image.

Many people have been hurt by his administration’s policies and theology. Agencies like the Department of Commerce, Government Accountability Board and Department of Natural Resources were politicized. Our attorney general drinks the same Kool Aid.

Our Supreme Court has been bought as well. Public education now has a massive shortage of teachers and professors. The list goes on.

Today, despite Republicans passing law after law closing the curtains on our government, we find out who the Walker administration’s friends are. Like

To the editor:

Northwoods students are getting short-changed when it comes to education. While there have always been differences between city and rural schools, adequate state funding helped level the playing field. Not anymore.

Thanks to Republicans like Scott Walker and Tom Tiffany, our rural schools are being starved to death in many ways. Here are just three:

Staff: Funding caps had already decimated faculties and services. Act 10 made things much worse. Experienced teachers retired; fewer students went into teaching. The resulting shortage makes teachers free agents. Small-town schools like mine seem like minor league teams, developing great teachers who leave for better pay and benefits elsewhere.

Last week, we went to see and hear one of my favorite writers, Michael Perry. He was appearing with his band, The Longbeds.

We’ve seen Michael a couple times before, but this was the first time we’d heard his band, and it was a really fun evening. Michael told stories and sang in a three-hour concert that didn’t seem nearly that long. “Times goes fast when you’re having fun!”

One of the things he talked about was a question I hear very often: “How do you come up with the ideas for your column?” And his answer was sort of like mine always is: “I listen and I watch and I pay attention to what’s going on around me - and I have a memory which is chock full of goofy stuff. Sometimes people say, “You should write about …”