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Letters to the Editor

Thanks for insightful analyses

Steven A. Pedersen

Minot

Paul Gunderson

Harvey

We commend Jill Schramm for her insightful analyses of Minot’s need for a concentrated focus on post-secondary technical education. And, we also commend the Minot Daily News for providing resources to explore the context, opportunities, and challenges such a development poses for the greater Minot economic area.

The analysis was insightful and contained broad coverage of economic implications within other population centers that may be instructive as Minot initiates its own analysis of need for such activity.

As a regional center, Minot remains the only population catchment area in North Dakota without significant access to technical training opportunity beyond that thankfully provided by our electrical and plumbing entities who so faithfully serve our industries, businesses, and private residences. We believe the call to explore interest in technical education elicited by a broad cadre of Minot’s business community, economic development, and education leaders is the right way to proceed, and ensures that future employers and other stakeholders possess a significant stake in the process and outcome.

We also commend Minot State University and Dr. Shirley, its president, for recognizing the importance of this development and its own capability through its Bottineau campus for some forms of technical education and potential leadership going forward. Interestingly, these developments have already captured the interest of regional and bi-national entities such as the North Dakota Association for Career and Technical Education and the Central North American Trade Corridor Association.

Now, we hope to witness active involvement of voluntary business and philanthropic organizations such as the Minot Rotary, the Jaycees, the Kiwanis, and others, as well as Minot’s faith community, for all possess a stake in the outcome.

Chumas loved and missed

Ron Overly

Arizona

It was good to read about the monument dedication to George Chumas, owner of the Minot Food Store. What a wonderful man. It was an honor to have known him and his family.

I was the building maintenance supervisor for the Ward County Courthouse from 1987-2012 and remember George coming over many times to talk to everyone in the courthouse.

In the wintertime I would start snow removal about 3 a.m. and would always clean the snow in front of his store and for his residents. The Bobcat back in the ’80s and ’90s didn’t have a cab over it and one time, about 6 a.m. and very cold, I was going by the store cleaning snow when his wife came out in her night clothes and a coat pulled over her to give me a bag with a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine.

I didn’t know what it was at the time. I tried to tell her I couldn’t take it, but it was cold and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Mr. Chumas, George, would always give me a Tootsie Roll and he and I made sure that the courthouse and Minot Foods would always be open for business every day when it snowed, and never had to be closed because of snow.

He was loved by all! George and family are truly missed. Thanks for the memories, George.

We are so blessed

Dutch and Maxine Myers

Minot

A very heartfelt thanks to the doctors, nurses, and staff at Trinity Hospital for everything you each did for our grandson after his 4-wheeler accident.

Also, thanks to family, friends, neighbors and Des Lacs school staff who prayed and brought food and stopped at the hospital.

We are also thankful for the big crew who came to the farm and hauled the hay bales home. You will never know how very, very much it was all appreciated and Hayes is doing great.

No more initiated measures

Dan Reinhard

Minot

I have friends that live in the Common Wealth of Massachusetts and received a text from one which read: “I am mortified that our state passed the Measure for Recreational Use Marijuana.”

I responded: “what are you worried about, you’ve probably watched some old Cheech and Chong movies or “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and laughed throughout them?” I won’t repeat the response I received.

The businesses are concerned about their employees, the schools are concerned about their students, law enforcement has no means to determine whether drivers are under the influence, and parents. And on and on.

To the best of my knowledge, all states have a system of constitutional government that mirrors our federal government and establishes an executive, legislative and judicial branch. Why then, have we and other states played the “end around game” to circumvent the legislative process by placing measures on our ballots?

I’ve read that our Measure 5 for Medical Use Marijuana which was passed in our state, is a total mess. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of details that need to be worked out. We have elected legislators throughout our state for a reason. One subtle reason is to prevent mob rule.

Once again, we do not live in a democracy, we elect legislators to represent us. I don’t know what would have happened if the medical marijuana proposal was introduced by our state representatives but I believe that the outcome would be better than what we are faced with now.

The only measure that I would like to see on our next election ballot is one which reads: This measure, if passed, would never allow another measure on your ballot: Yes or No.

First 100 days of Trump terrifying

Lisa DeVille

Mandaree

According to the headlines this past week Trump’s agenda on environment; End of EPA. End of Federal Clean Energy. End of Paris Climate deal. More drilling, more coal, more pipelines, more wildlife bull dozed and more lives destroyed. Also, according to Sierra Club, Trump’s agenda for his first 100 days is just as terrifying as his potential cabinet picks. Near the top: putting Keystone XL in motion; canceling payments to UN climate change programs; lifting restrictions on dirty coal and oil production.

“Trump has released his agenda for the first 100 days. If fully implemented, it will be a disaster for our country, our planet, and everything we have worked for:

SECOND, begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Scalia.

THIRD, a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated.

FIFTH, lift the restrictions on American energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal.

SIXTH, lift the Obama-Clinton roadblocks and allow the Keystone Pipeline to move forward.

SEVENTH, cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs.”

I heard from a lady in class that at the Indian Nation Final Rodeo there was a group of hard core Native American Republicans who stated it was going to be the Native Americans to be hit first with budget cuts in Education and Indian Health Service which they were going to see to it takes place. We also discussed the article in Indianz.com that Cramer or Hoeven will be the Indian Affairs Chair and Scott Davis will staff. Scott Davis is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux and knew about DAPL way before its construction, yet failed to alert his people.

We were forced into who we are today depending on material things we will no longer be able to live off the land. Greedy, capitalistic whites have a history of lying to get ahead. They take and take and leave us with the destruction while they live in mansions thousands of miles away, where many of us who have made homes and lives. All the man made things are destroying our environment for greed. You can’t eat money. The more you take the less you have. We are all in this together – we breathe the air, drink the water and grow food off the land.

Our main source of employment, the casino, is in jeopardy. Trump sees tribal casinos as a threat to his casino business and thus, we need to understand that he will impede on tribal sovereignty to grow his own profit.

Make America Great Again is Trump’s saying. America was already great, now our environment will be destroyed, un-inhabitable with Trump’s agenda.

I say this to the Native American people, we must reconnect or stay connected to who we are as Native Americans and stand strong against Trump’s racism, environmental destruction, misogynistic sexism, religious bigotry, xenophobia, mockery of the disabled, and viciously blaming the unfortunate for their misfortunes and ours. Be prepared for anti-woman, anti-choice Republicans to take over the House, Senate, White House and Supreme Court. The last time the Republicans had complete control, we landed in the Great Depression. That’s something to think about.

Trump lacks clarity

Bruce Brooks

Minot

I really hope that President-elect Trump has a good staff of interpreters available to him when he visits with other world leaders. Including one who is able to understand Trump’s English and translate it into what many of us speak.

Listening to him blather on during the campaign, sometimes contradicting and re-contradicting himself in the same sentence, made native English speakers tear out their hair. Much of what he said simply was not understandable, which is apparently one of the reasons that he appealed to so many prospective voters.

At the same time, I hope that he has someone writing out comments that he can read during the “3 o’clock in the morning” calls. What the world doesn’t need is failing to understand what our president says when he is without a script.

In defense of Trump

Max Zurcher

Minot

Mr. Mike McFeeley must really have a lot of anger and resentment built up inside of him.  His opinion piece in the Minot Daily News mentioned some form of the word “disability” 12 times.

I watched the program on TV when this incident happened and I was truly shocked and embarrassed that Mr. Trump would say something so stupid because Mr. Trump’s mocking the young man that was disabled was so resentful to most Americans. I apologize to Mr. Mike McFeeley.

Apparently, this country is almost divided in half. If Mike watched what happened on TV he most certainly would have known that Mr. Trump was set up by the Democrats knowing Mr. Firecracker would explode. Such was the case of Mr. Khan and his family being used by the Democratic Party. Who besides Mr. Khan carries a copy of the Constitution with them wherever they go? Please give that some thought, Mike.

Mr. McFeeley has fears of a nuclear scrap with Iran or Putin in the next four years. Mr. Obama said Trump was “woefully unprepared for the job of President and couldn’t handle the nuclear codes”.

Please read a book written by Lieut. Col. Robert Patterson called “Dereliction of Duty.”  Lieut. Col. Patterson carried the nuclear football for Pres. Bill Clinton. The book contains the eyewitness account of how Bill Clinton compromised America’s national security.

The following is a quote from the book: “Kris motioned me into the Oval Office. Clinton was seated behind his desk. Sir, if you’d like, we can just change out the codes now, and I’ll come back for the briefing later. That would be fine, Robert, thank you.

“I handed him the new card – the Biscuit, we called it – with the codes, which would be effective immediately.  I was waiting for him to offer me his old set of codes which never happened.

“A few days later I went back to the Oval Office to talk to President Clinton. Clinton looked up sheepishly and confessed ‘I don’t have the old codes on me. I’ll track it down, guys, and get back to you.’  We were dumbfounded; the President losing his nuclear codes. He is required to have the codes on him at all times.  The codes were never found – apparently lost.”

Pres. Carter once accidentally sent his codes to the cleaners in the pocket of a suit.

So, Mr. Mike McFeeley, maybe you should be happy that the Democrats never won.

Mike, I was in two hospitals during the Vietnam War and one of the duties we had every day, three times a day, was to help with meals of those with their arms and legs missing.

I do know something about disabilities, Mike, and do wish you the best in the future. Also, I am 100 percent disabled by the VA for my wounds received in combat.

Time for “no waste” rule

Joletta Bird Bear

New Town

Over the last decade oil and gas extracted on North Dakota’s federal and tribal lands flared natural gas valued at more than $76 million. Why is such a valuable natural resource being wasted?

Currently, the Bureau of Land Management federal regulations allow for wasteful flaring, direct venting into our atmosphere, and do not require detection devices for renegade emissions from oil infrastructures. Soon, the BLM will release revised standards to cut wasteful flaring, venting, and renegade emissions on federal and tribal lands. The implementation of these new regulations will eliminate methane waste, decrease volatile organic compounds into our air, and will require royalty payment to mineral owners.

Three Affiliated Tribes Tribal Chairman, Mark Fox stated in 2015, “The biggest problem with flaring is it’s a waste of money…The oil companies don’t get paid, the tribes don’t get paid and the individuals that own mineral rights…do not get paid. So, flaring is not a good thing.” Tribes will receive the royalties to fund road repairs, emergency response costs, expand tribal staff to oversee energy development, and tribal medical health treatment costs. The soon to be released BLM regulations will bring better economic outcomes for the Three Affiliated tribal government and direct royalty payment to the allottee mineral owners of Fort Berthold.

It’s time for the implementation of the best available technology to capture natural gas that could bring needed revenue to the many allotted mineral owners. It is time to fully enact the “no waste” rule in North Dakota.

Legislators ignoring safety standards

Linda Weiss

Belfield

The North Dakota Industrial Commission met this week to once again, discuss proposed oil and gas rules for underground gathering pipelines, bonding for saltwater gathering lines, and requirements for dikes and berms. The rules were passed earlier this year but hit a wall when reaching the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Committee in September.

Why would we want to stall the process for pipeline and well pad safety when we have controversy surrounding pipelines coming out of North Dakota?

North Dakota Legislators are holding up rules that will improve the safety of gathering lines while there is much doubt surrounding the safety of North Dakota interstate pipelines. The Department of Mineral Resources has effectively brought forth rules to protect natural resources yet our Legislators are willing to allow operators to work with no safety standards.

Must we wait another 6 months for oil and gas regulations in North Dakota? Can we afford to wait for regulations for gas gathering lines, bonding requirements for saltwater handling facilities and pipelines, and leak detection for ANY type of pipeline? I don’t think so.

God had a hand in electing Trump

Brenda Dando

Minot

In response to Brad Mill’s Nov. 20th letter entitled,“These so-called ‘Christians’?” First and foremost, I don’t understand what is meant by his term “so-called ‘Christians’ ?” You are either 1. a Christian OR 2. non-Christian- period. I am very proud to say I am a “Christian” but prefer to go by the title of “Christ-Follower.” I truly believe God had His Hand in this election process and mercifully gave the USA “more time” – that is, time to turn back to God (repent) and acknowledge that He alone is in control. God did graciously allow Trump to become our 45th president and He was involved big time. Donald A. Trump (a non-politician) who seemed to not have a chance…BUT GOD!!

Mr. Mills, you addressed the question “Is this what passes for Christianity these days?” Let me further address this question on behalf of my fellow Christian believers. Trump is by far not perfect and certainly has “human flaws” as we all do. But in defense of this man vs the other candidate, let me raise the main issue Christians had in this election and that is the “abortion issue.” I believe God calls this “murder.” Actually, He thought it was so important as it to be one of His commandments: Thou shalt not kill!

And as far as “making stuff up” and “denying on video” –  really? Please don’t make me open that “can of worms.” If we really want to “go there” and compare the two candidates, Trump with all his human flaws comes out smelling like a rose. As far as a “Christian’s duty” to vote for the better candidate taking this abortion issue into tow – HANDS DOWN!! GO TRUMP!! To vote otherwise would have been spitting in the face of sweet Jesus Himself!

As far as calling Trump “mentally and unstable and a morally depraved animal”– please look again at his opposing candidate who is totally OK with ripping babies from the womb at full term. Want to talk sick and depraved?

There you go! Again God Himself made the commandment – not me nor some other person or some Christian nor Trump himself. God said it – I believe it. THOU SHALT NOT KILL!

I am very excited for “new change” after a long overdrawn 8 years of turbulence and nothing good coming from the late presidency. I along with many other “so-called Christians” am looking for America to be great again. I have great faith in Trump as our next president. Was God’s Hand in this election? Without a doubt it was! And I will continually thank God for allowing Trump to be our 45th president. But to be united, we all have a part in this. Should the opposing party just sulk and cry over their candidate not winning, OR should we unite as fellow Americans and make this country great again? You choose.

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