June 1

14A

VILAS COUNTY NEWS-REVIEW/THE THREE LAKES NEWS

EDITORIAL VILAS COUNTY

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2011

OPINION/COMMENTARY

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER SINCE 1985

NEWS-REVIEW Bracing for a century of unimaginable disasters

Eagle River Vindicator Established 1886 Eagle River Review 1890 ~ Vilas County News 1892 Publisher Editor Assistant Editor Lifestyle Editor Production Manager Assistant Production Manager Photo Technician Copy Editor/Lead Typesetter Proofreader Circulation Manager Accounting Manager Advertising Consultants

KURT KRUEGER GARY RIDDERBUSCH ANTHONY DREW MARIANNE ASHTON JEAN DREW ELIZABETH BLEICHER SHARINA ADAMS JEAN DEDITZ JEAN FITZPATRICK ELIZABETH SCHMIDT TERRY POSTO MARY JO ADAMOVICH DIANE GLEASON MARCIA HEYER MADELINE MATHISEN JASON MCCREA

MEMBER

Published weekly by Eagle River Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 1929, 425 W. Mill Street at Eagle River, Wisconsin 54521 e-mail: erpub@nnex.net www.vcnewsreview.com Member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and the National Newspaper Association

Our View State’s concealed carry bills need some serious tweaking Republican control of Wisconsin government makes it almost certain that some type of concealed carry legislation will be enacted this year, but the good news is not without some major problems with current bills in the Legislature.

Early on it appeared that the biggest argument would be over language that would exempt from public disclosure the identities of individuals licensed to carry a concealed weapon. The secrecy provisions in both the Assembly and Senate versions of the bill go against Wisconsin’s clear policy for openness in public records.

SOME PLANNING experts say the 21st century will be a century of stunning disasters and, based on what we’ve seen the past 10 years, they may be right. Disaster forecasting, relief planning and cleanup may be growth industries.

The experts say we need to keep things in perspective. The apparent onslaught of violent, deadly and costly disasters doesn’t portend the end of the world. We just have to be prepared for more and more disasters, and have plans to deal with them.

We need to look at the reasons catastrophic events seem to be happening at a faster pace. We are seeing more meltdowns, floods, tornadoes, oil spills, grid crashes, earthquakes, forest fires, droughts, pandemics, tsunamis and other disasters.

Scientists warn us major natural disasters are always possible. They’ve happened before, and they will happen again; we just can’t predict when they will happen. We have survival plans in place, and even backup plans, but until the disaster happens, we can’t be sure the plans will be enough. Unforeseen things happen.

Think Murphy’s Law. If something can go wrong, it probably will. There have always been natural disasters, but today, with 7 billion people roaming the planet, disasters

People Make the Difference

By Byron McNutt

are more likely to hit areas where people live. Some say people have engineered growth to the point that, when bad things happen, the suffering is bound to happen.

If you need things to worry about, scientists believe solar flares are a disaster waiting to happen. Electromagnetic pulses could knock out electrical grids over much of the country. The damage might take years to fix and cost trillions of dollars.

Imagine not having electrical power for months at a time.

The recent earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan was something they had planned for, but Murphy’s Law prevailed and has presented challenges that may take years to solve. What if something like that happened in America?

In fact, the United States can’t forget the Cascadia subduction zone off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. If that plate shifts — and the experts say it will — it could start a tsunami that could devastate an area from Vancouver Island to northern California. About 15 million people would be placed at risk.

Already this century, we’ve experienced Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, several major blackouts, the oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, terrible flooding along the Mississippi and just this year we’ve had the worst deadly tornado season in six decades.

Because of the economic crisis in America, and the world, millions of people have moved from rural areas to the metropolitan areas. There are more megacities now than ever before. Millions of people are packed into smaller areas.

This has put pressure on the infrastructure and, in the event of a mega-disaster, the results will be devastating.

This is where the engineering comes in. Over half of our population lives near the coastlines. In the event of a natural disaster, or an act of terrorism, such as a nuclear assault, the system will be overwhelmed. There will be a domino effect as the infrastructure collapses.

We can also worry should there be an attack or disaster with our technology network.

We celebrate the fact we are

But then the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-2 last Wednesday to allow law-abiding residents to carry concealed weapons without getting permits or any training, as long as they are state residents 21 and older who aren’t felons or otherwise barred from possessing firearms.

Guess who’s running for president in 2012

time on an 80-degree day.

Then there is spring. This lovely season long ranked the lowest among seasons for me, especially if you went by the period from late March to late April.

In this country anyway, March and April are months when it is tough to do a lot of things outside. Snow melts, thick clay mud sucks at your boots with every step along a rutted logging trace, snow falls some more, it melts some more and old bones ache waiting for winter to end.

That’s the way it used to be. Of late I have discovered a newfound affection for the season of spring, especially that part of it from late April to late May. Sure, it’s a drag for winter

I’D LIKE to tell everyone reading my column today that you have about 530 days until the presidential election of 2012. So please make sure you use the time carefully.

And, if you’re thinking of running for the presidency, you must file a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission using Form 2. Don’t use Form 3 or you could be in trouble! As I tell you this, there are already more than 135 presidential candidates on the Federal Election Commission list of filers.

Looking at the list, I recognize some of the names, like Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and Rutherford Bert Hayes. Hayes? Wasn’t he elected president in 1877?

There are some names I recognize as presidential hopefuls, but there are a lot of names that I don’t recognize. For example, who is HRM Caesar St. Augustine De Buonaparte, or somebody who calls himself “The Impaler”? Can you imagine asking someone called The Impaler to discuss his views on deficit spending or how the crisis in the Middle East could be resolved?

I see two people with the last name of Jones, a Rickey and a Ronald. There are two men with the last name of Lee, a Kip and a Robert.

There are two men with the name Carroll, a James and a Jerry. And there are two men with the last name of David, a Jeff and an L. John. There are two people with the last name of Bush, a Savannah and a Tanner. I wonder if these Bushes are related to George H.W. or George W. Bush. I can’t tell for sure from the list if any women are running. I think it’s high time we have a woman president in this country.

To tell you the truth, I think most Americans think it’s just too early for anyone to be declaring his or her in

To MAINES, Pg. 15A

To ROONEY, Pg. 15A

The latest twist in the bill, if passed, would create a circumstance ripe for putting a bad name on guns and gun ownership. It invites people who have no training in gun safety to carry a concealed weapon in public. Such a law would put many homeowners and their children at risk because handgun handling, storage and use requires specialized training that this bill would not require.

We cannot support concealed carry legislation that irresponsibly allows the general public to become armed in public without some type of licensing system. Professional law enforcement officers and the court system deserve to know who might be carrying a concealed weapon, especially if this new law isn’t intended to circumvent existing enforcement efforts.

Unless a compelling reason for secrecy can be identified, the list of individuals licensed to carry a concealed weapon should be public. If citizens want the benefit of the law — the ability to carry a concealed firearm — they should be willing to have their names disclosed.

We believe the public is best served by knowing the identities of citizens who carry concealed weapons and those who seek to obtain them. As an example, individuals who have restraining orders against violent offenders and abusive spouses should have access to concealed carry records.

The secrecy provision contained in the initial bills flies in the face of Wisconsin’s crystal-clear policy on public records, which says the law shall be construed in every instance with a presumption of complete public access.

Behind the editorial ‘we’ Members of the Vilas County News-Review editorial board include Publisher Kurt Krueger, Editor Gary Ridderbusch and Assistant Editor Anthony Drew.

* * * THIS LITTLE PIECE is titled “A rule of three.”

Three things to govern: temper, tongue and conduct.

Three things to cultivate: courage, affection and gentleness.

Three things to command: thrift, industry and promptness.

Three things to despise: cruelty, arrogance and ingratitude.

Three things to wish for: health, gracefulness and intellectual power.

Three things to give: alms to the needy, comfort to the sad and appreciation to the worthy.

Andy Rooney

Under that version of the bill, guns could be carried most places but would be banned from schools, law enforcement offices, jails, prisons and courthouses. And the bill dictates that the owners of day-care centers, churches and domestic abuse centers could ban guns by posting signs saying they weren’t allowed.

When Republicans finally wake up and realize the need for a permit system that mandates training in gun safety and gun responsibility, we highly suggest that the secrecy provisions of the initial bill be removed. Wisconsin has a clear policy for openness in public records — the identity of an individual licensed to carry a concealed weapon should not be an exception.

all connected, but what happens if the communication/technology systems crash? Sure, there are backup plans, but they could also fail from the overload and what if it would take weeks or months to repair the system?

We can’t lose sleep worrying about all the “what ifs.” Enormous disasters have happened in the past. We pick ourselves up, clean up and rebuild.

That’s all we can do. But because of our growth, social engineering and desire to build in areas that present risks and, in the dangerous world we now share with 7 billion other people, we can expect challenges that will dwarf the challenges of the past.

Exciting, and tragic, times lie ahead.

An anxious grouse flairs its neck ruff

Here’s a portrait of a male ruffed grouse in springtime, the black ruff on its neck exposed as it “drums” on its favorite log while trying to attract hens for breeding during the nesting season. This bird was studying the landscape, looking for movement that might mean an available hen was headed his way.

--Staff Photo By KURT KRUEGER

Spring is a pretty good season A PERSON COULD make a case, should the person so wish, that each of the year’s four seasons is the best.

Each has its own special qualities, things about it that are unique to that season, and for every four people one queried, one would likely find a champion for each.

Personally, fall is, always has been and always will be my favorite, primarily because that is the season when the wild ducks and geese fly, when good hunting dogs stand as sentinels at the front of duck blinds, and when a hunter thrills to the swash of sharp-cut wings swinging for a close-in look at decoys bobbing in slate gray waters on a cold, stormy October morning.

Winter, too, has its way with me, giving me days

Trails & Tales By Will Maines when skis glide fast over new fallen snow, giving me bitter cold nights when snow crunches and squeaks under the tread of a pair of L.L. Bean boots and giving me the joy of sitting before a blazing campfire along a familiar lake shore while waiting for a tip-up flag to spring skyward.

Summer is a time when fireflies light up the night, when loons lull you to sleep, when everything in the forest is lush and green and when giant ice cream cones are licked fast in a race against

VILAS COUNTY NEWS-REVIEW/THE THREE LAKES NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2011

15A

OP-ED/READER OPINION Time for Kloppenburg, liberal Democrats to move on Letter to the Editor: In the Saturday, May 21, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel front-page story “Prosser wins recount. Margin still at 7,000plus, Kloppenburg considers legal challenge.”

Dropping to paragraph two, “but the battle may not be over yet, as Kloppenburg mulls whether to challenge the results in court.” Further into the story, it states that if the legal contest goes on long enough, it could delay efforts to swear Prosser in for a new term Aug. 1, leading to a temporary vacancy on the high court.

Haven’t the liberal Democrats, in conjunction with the national labor leaders, caused

enough havoc and unnecessary added costs to our taxpayers?

Why are these parties so eager to put our state in further financial and political chaos?

Are all these weird, undemocratic actions designed to punish the voters for voting our conscience Nov. 5, 2010?

Or could it be that the public unions are out to get even with the 87% of the private workers who see the national unions for what they are?

It seems to me that it is time to get over the past election and get on with the serious business necessary to make our great state prosperTo RECOUNT, Pg. 16A

ATVs add noise to environment Dear Editor: For many people exposed to all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) all the time, what these enginepowered devices do is add yet another element of noise to our North Woods.

I live in a small city in Dickinson County, Michigan, where a couple of years ago, the city government abruptly offered a proposal to allow ATVs on city streets. Shocked me. I had already seen such vehicles on the streets of Iron River in Iron County and wondered why anyone would ask for ATVs on the streets. In Iron River, they even drive them on the sidewalks. Some time passed here, and ATVs were allowed. They brought loud sounds as they approached, passed and went away from our residential neighborhood.

Maddening sounds. Ferocious sounds.

One weekend last summer (in 2010), we drove our properly mufflered car to Grand Marais, Mich., on the shores of Lake Superior in Alger County, which our local chief of police

had stated to be a good model to follow here in our Dickinson County small city. We’d visited there before — 20 years ago, again 10 years ago — and remembered it as a peaceful place. It was. Not now. ATVs roared around the Grand Marais streets. Who would want to visit again? Not me.

I prefer people walking or bicycling or driving properly mufflered at the speed limit (not way, way beyond as is common enough in our North Woods).

Many times we’ve driven through little Dunbar on Highway 8 in northern Wisconsin and wondered why the local people want all those ATVs that come there.

We’re not ingenuous. We can figure some reasons, ones we don’t need to repeat here. We don’t think they are enough to counter a bad, bad impact on our North Woods, altered as they already are by motors on our lakes, celebrations of such motors and the like.

D. Aucutt Norway, Mich.

Maines FROM PAGE 14A weary old-timers to watch snow slowly melt, to watch more snow fall and to watch three feet of lake ice take forever to lose its grip on a favorite lake, but any season that also brings the joy of listening to gobbling turkeys and to hunt same-said when the spring woods are just freshening to life has to be good.

And there is more to spring than just the washing away of winter and turkey hunting, especially when you get into May and new life of all kinds comes forth.

I have been reminded of that in many ways over the past week or so, seeing so much of that new life close to hand as I have made my way along back roads, along hidden lakeshores far back in the woods and even along the busiest highways and byways of human civilization.

On small ponds, gurgling

streams and cattail marshes, I have watched ducks of all kinds gather once again as brilliantly colored drakes competed for the attention of receptive hens.

Now those hens are tending nests, trying to defy the odds and a host of predators to hatch out this season’s brood. I have already seen Canada geese with freshly hatched goslings paddling quietly along the grassy hummocks of a local trout spring, and I have watched a loon — perhaps the most watched loon in the world — patiently sit her nest which she has sat for many years just out from the culvert on Plum Lake.

I have yet to see my first fawn of the season, but I know someone who has. I have friends who have had a red fox take up residence under one of their resort cabins where she is currently raising the kits she bore earlier this spring.

Amazingly, a springer spaniel has decided to allow the fox family to roam his personal domain, and Mama Fox

has decided she can live with him as a close neighbor.

Bears have been showing up everywhere, and my dad has begun his annual battle for sunflower seeds and hummingbird nectar with a sow and her newest triplets.

Perhaps the brightest and maybe best part of late spring, this part of spring where we wander into early June, is the profusion of wildflowers covering the forest floor.

Last week I found a surprising treat as I slowly edged my truck over a goat trail of a track toward one of my secret small fishing lakes. Less than a quarter-mile from the lake, a bend in the lane opened up to a wide scattering of large flowered trillium in full bloom.

For 200 yards they dotted the banks along the lane, lovely eye candy for someone such as I who considers a find of a wildflower treasure trove at least as rewarding as a creel full of fish.

On a trip a little wider afield a week ago, I found trout in a favorite creek but,

just as importantly, had my expedition literally lit up in a blaze of bright yellow beauty by one of my favorite flowers, the dazzling marsh marigold.

You know, I wouldn’t care if I caught a single trout on such a trip, as long as I could sit in the sunshine with my back against a birch tree reveling in the deep green foliage and unmatched brightness of the marsh marigold. In the interest of full disclosure, however, it should be noted I was more than happy to catch a few trout that day as well.

There are many more wildflowers that bring immense joy to people such as me, everything from common blue violets to luscious butter and eggs to softly nodding harebells, and I have been lucky enough to find them all this spring.

I enjoy them each and every one, and along with all the other new life showing itself each day, I have come to think much more highly of this season we call spring.

Recall elections being exploited Dear Editor: This recall business has me puzzled. For starters, I believe a recall should be reserved for malfeasance in office (taking bribes for example) and not used to punish the use of a political strategy.

Sen. Holperin and the rest of the 14 “absentees” used the only leverage available to avoid having a budget bill they could not, in good conscience, support rammed through with little public disclosure. I call this a form of obstruction. If you want to learn about obstruction, check the records of the national Republicans in Washington. They practically invented it.

If you don’t agree with something a politician is doing

VOICES Question:

and it is within his or her legal right to do it, vote against them next time. The way it is now, you can easily collect recall signatures from people who probably never vote for Holperin in the first place no matter what he did or didn’t do. If the recall rules are what they appear to be, recalls could become as pervasive as political partisanship.

Should the reader think I’m merely a biased advocate for Holperin, I also question on the same grounds the recall of the Republican state senators for backing Gov. Walker’s budget bill. It sure looks like the recall is being exploited at a wasteful expense of time and money.

Jack Colby Eagle River

People need to take our country back Dear Editor: Since the end of the world didn’t happen, as a newcomer to the area, I would like to second a couple of notions recently expressed in this publication.

First, the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) trail issue. I grew up in Detroit and came to Wisconsin in 1957. Upon completing school, I noted that of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, about 50 had a smaller population than the number of people licensed to practice law in Detroit. I’ve been a Wisconsinite ever since.

As Edward Abbey once said, “Growth is the fundamental operating principle of the cancer cell.” If additional ATV

FROM ACROSS THE HEADWATERS REGION

Compiled by Jean Fitzpatrick

What are your summer vacation plans?

trails is the key to continued growth in the North Woods, is that a good tradeoff? Maybe there’s a better way.

Secondly, corporations are not persons, according to Mr. Moe in the May 18 issue. This should be obvious, especially to the esteemed members of the U.S. Supreme Court. This notion had its inception in the 1888 case of County of Santa Clara vs. The Southern Pacific Railway. The primary rule in legal research of Supreme Court opinions is that the headnotes are not written by the court and are not part of the opinion.

The case considered whether the fences along the railroad tracks could be “property” and therefore taxed by the county. It had absolutely nothing to do with the question of whether corporations were persons for purposes of constitutional rights. The party who had the concession to print the opinions, a former railroad president, wrote the chief justice to inquire if a notation to that effect could or should be placed in the headnotes. He was told that all justices decided not to hear argument on that issue because it played no part in the decision and the chief justice left it up to the printer whether to include such

a statement in the headnotes.

He did. This is all on Wikipedia — look it up.

That case has ever since stood for the proposition that corporations are persons. The notion has always been recognized as a “legal fiction.” It’s time the fiction be reversed.

Originally, corporations could only be organized for a specific business venture and, upon completion of the project, would have to be dissolved. If you can’t tell the difference between a stack of documents and a living body with a pulse and a heartbeat, you need help.

Government “of the people, by the people and for the people” no longer exists. This country is completely in the hands of businesses and their hired guns, the lobbyists. Until the people take the country back, it will remain so. The fiction needs to be eliminated. Corporate taxes need to be eliminated. The voice of the corporation must be stilled. Owners and shareholders will still be persons.

Why should they get their own individual say and then be allowed to make huge political contributions and gain more leverage in our legislatures?

Corporations don’t really pay any income taxes anyway. The

Rooney

elected in 2008. The president commenced his 2012 campaign for re-election in April. The earlier he makes the announcement, the more time he has to raise money for the 2012 run.

The incumbent president has to sort of step out of his role as our dignified leader and become a salesman . . . that’s of himself, of course.

FROM PAGE 14A Lindsay Eades, 23 Dietary aide Eagle River “I have lived in Eagle River my whole life and there is always stuff to do here. We go to the beaches and the parks for the kids, walk down the trails, go shopping, and have fun all summer.”

Vallerie Baxter, 25 Dietary aide Eagle River “We plan to go with friends to the beach here. We like Torch Lake in Conover for the kids. We take the kids out to lunch and go for ice cream afterward. And we go to the park.”

Jill Norship, 40 Caterer Three Lakes “I think we will try to watch one of the Three Lakes waterski shows. And we always go to a wildlife park in Minocqua. We go to the beach and, of course, we go fishing.”

tention to run for president.

It seems that as soon as presidents are elected, they’re thinking of ways to raise money for their re-election. I understand the candidates have to raise a lot of money to finance their campaigns . . . billions, maybe, for the election in 2012.

I read a figure somewhere that President Obama’s campaign spent something like $500 million to get him

How demeaning is this for President Obama or any president to be trying to fix all the problems in the country one day and, a few days later, solicit money for his

funds come out of dividends, profits or salaries of employees or other business expenses.

All these things, with the exception of dividends, are tax deductible. If any such thing would happen, Joe Sixpack and Bob Billionaire would see their taxes increase substantially.

Would it be worth it?

Yours truly, Dan Ryan Three Lakes

Likes Simac for senator Dear Editor: Would you like a senator who understands the issues facing our state, is honest and caring, will work hard to balance our state budget, is a fantastic organizer, is a wonderful patriot who deeply loves our country and our state, and has worked tirelessly to preserve what is fair and right?

The voters of the 12th District have a wonderful opportunity to vote for someone who has all of these qualifications and more. Her name is Kim Simac.

Don’t forget to vote.

Mary Lou Hake Conover campaign at a businessman’s luncheon?

How can the candidates be honest with the American people while they’re asking us for money? I think we need a cheaper and more dignified way for politicians to get elected.

There, I said what everyone else is thinking and I’m glad.

(Write to Andy Rooney at Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207, or e-mail at aarooney5@yahoo.com.)

16A

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2011

VILAS COUNTY NEWS-REVIEW/THE THREE LAKES NEWS

READER OPINION

GOSLINGS IN TOW — A pair of Canada geese were the bookends in this scene as they protect and shield a group of newly hatched

goslings from potential danger during a leisurely swim down the shoreline of Planting Ground Lake in Three Lakes. The new duck-

Public sector also taxpaying citizens Letter to the Editor: During the recent (and ongoing) controversy over the rights of public employees to maintain their traditional collective bargaining rights, one consistent theme — among others, to be sure — has played out in much of the commentary. Many argue that the very concept of public employee unionization is illegitimate, and that an inherent conflict of interest necessarily follows from such a labor arrangement.

The underlying premise behind this is that workers employed in the public sector, and whose salaries are paid for by the taxpaying public, will tend to negotiate against the best interest of the public at large.

After all, it is argued, higher wages and benefits will lead to higher taxes and/or financial deficits.

Furthermore, it is accepted as fact that unionized workers support exclusively politicians who are most likely to advance a pro-union agenda and act as mere rubber stampers of union demands. To many, this is polit-

Recount

ical corruption of a high order: union bosses and their political lackeys conspiring against the better interests of the citizenry.

After all, don’t the “taxpayers� pay for all of this extravagant largesse?

Well, it might be useful to remember that those toiling in the public sector, whether union or not, are at the same time also taxpaying citizens and voters. They are as much a part of the public as any other citizen. They are, as employees, just as much a part of a workplace as workers in the private sector — with just as much of an interest in their working environment. As voters, they act as citizens judging the merits of many issues from a variety of perspectives. All this is as true for the public workers as for anyone else. It is not surprising (and perfectly legitimate in a democratic exercise) that one votes for perceived self-interest. But it is simply not credible to believe that organized public workers conspire to deliberately undermine the public good.

Nor is it credible to believe that anti-union forces are not also part of the political landscape. The history of the past

30 years, during which unions overall have been in a steep decline, clearly shows that they are. Public-employee unions have fared better, and certainly have their political supporters.

But that support is clearly countered by anti-union adversaries, especially in the aftermath of the infamous Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court. For every “union boss� there are two “Koch brothers� ready, willing and seemingly able to destroy whatever remains of union activity in this country.

To accept the premise of public union illegitimacy is close to embracing the belief that public-sector work is somehow illegitimate as well — that the public worker occupies a second-tier status among the American workforce. After a century of progress it is sad, indeed, to see a growing number of people, unhappy with their own situation, seem so easily led down a path of resentment and stereotyping.

Overpaid bureaucrats vs. hardworking Americans with real jobs. Greedy unions vs. regular folks.

But, if we are ever going to bring about a semblance of eco-

FROM PAGE 15A ous once again.

When the actions of Judge Kloppenburg during the court election are reviewed, it causes one to wonder who in the world would want her representing any issue that might come before the court. It appears that she very well may have difficulty in getting facts before self or political interest in any case that comes before her.

Are we going to continue with a republic form of government, where the voters decide their representatives, or are we going to rely on trickery by special-interest groups?

God bless America and the great state of Wisconsin. Let us see a bit of patriotism for a change!

Harvey Hyslop Eagle River

Be vigilant, protect North Dear Editor: Men, women and children of Vilas County, take heart.

You have a precious gem like no other in the world. Wisconsin Trails magazine selected Eagle River as the Best Up North Town. The pristine lakes, magnificent pines, miles of country roads and hiking trails, indeed, make a gem, perhaps even a national treasure.

Again, the all-terrain vehicles (ATV) forces are trying to ply into a rare ATV-free region. Once gone, returning to pre-ATV condition is difficult, if not impossible. We all have heard the pros and cons of ATV use, as this subject has

been raised at least twice in the past years, both times denied access to our county and towns. Be vigilant in protecting the great North Woods from ATV intrusion.

I am without a vote in this matter. Those who do have a say, please contact your town board members, especially in Conover, Phelps, Land O’ Lakes and Eagle River. Tell them to hold tight in keeping our corner of the world free of ATVs and support less intrusive activities to raise the bar of natural excellence.

Gary Pajonk and Stephanie Perkins St. Germain

nomic fairness in this country, we need to get beyond a raceto-the-bottom mentality. Does the low-wage earner solve his or her problem by making sure that the teacher is brought down to some lower level? Is that problem solved by eliminating the rights of workers, public or private, to collectively bargain for economic advancement?

Perhaps we might do well to ask better questions. To ask, for instance, why, after a generation of failed conservative economics, so many are struggling.

Or to ask why we are rapidly losing policies and institutions that might actually bring relief to so many American families.

Jeff Laadt Eagle River

lings of mallards and other ducks will be next to appear on the lakefront, followed by loon chicks.

--Staff Photo By KURT KRUEGER

Doesn’t mind trail on land Dear Editor: Responding to the letter of Mr. Bloom of May 18, suggesting that businesses should pay landowners for use of their land as snowmobile trails — I allow the St. Germain club to traverse about 3,000 feet through my land.

I am no great fan of snowmobiling myself, but I know that the sport is a contributor to-

ward making the local economy as vibrant as it is. That’s payment enough for me.

Of course, anyone ought to be able to restrict access to their land, but then I find that people tend to treat you in the same way you treat them. (And I am happy for any gift certificate I get.)

Jack Edelbrock Flossmoor, Ill.

Letters policy The Vilas County News-Review/The Three Lakes News welcomes letters from its readers. Letters should be written legibly, or typed, and must include the name, address and telephone number of the writer. No letters will be published without the writer’s name. Initials and/or pseudonyms will not be used. Unsigned letters will be disregarded. While the maximum limit is 700 words, writers should note that shorter letters will receive top priority. No political letters will appear in the last issue prior to an election. They should be mailed to us at P.O. Box 1929, Eagle River, WI 54521; e-mail address: erpub@nnex.net

WE SELL ALL YOUR

FAVORITE KUBOTAS! L3400 Â’ !# % 6> ! 1gZW\RS` 9cP]bO 2WSaSZ 3\UW\S Â’ 1ObSU]`g 7 ! ^b 6WbQV Â’ >S`T]`[O\QS ;ObQVSR 7[^ZS[S\ba /dOWZOPZS

14,499

$

1OaV =\Zg Â’ B`OQb]` =\Zg

$0 DOWN, 0% A.P.R. FINANCING FOR UP TO

60* MONTHS ON SELECT NEW KUBOTAS!

B2620

**

Â’ $ 6> ! 1gZW\RS` 9cP]bO 2WSaSZ 3\UW\S Â’ 1ObSU]`g 7 ! >]W\b 6WbQV Â’ ! @O\US 6gR`]abObWQ B`O\a[WaaW]\ Â’ >S`T]`[O\QS ;ObQVSR 7[^ZS[S\ba /dOWZOPZS

ZG227

***

Â’ % 6> 1gZW\RS` 9cP]bO 5Oa]ZW\S 3\UW\S Â’ #"Âś ;]eS` 2SQY Â’ 6gR`]abObWQ B`O\a[WaaW]\ Â’ >`] 1][[S`QWOZ ;]eS`

RTV500 Â’ # & 6> 1gZW\RS` 9cP]bO 5Oa]ZW\S 3\UW\S Â’ "E2 eWbV E2 ASZSQbW]\ Â’ 4Wba 7\ BVS 0OQY =T / 4cZZ AWhS :]\U 0SR >WQYc^ B`cQY

x£ÇÊ ,-/ĂŠ 6 °ÊÊUĂŠĂŠ7"" ,1 ]ĂŠ7 s www.qualityequipmentinc.com * $0 down, 0% A.P.R. ďŹ nancing for terms up to 60 months on purchases of select new Kubota equipment from available inventory at participating dealers through 6/30/2011.

Example: A 60-month monthly installment repayment term at 0% A.P.R. requires 60 payments of $16.67 per $1,000 borrowed. 0% A.P.R. interest is available to customers if no dealer documentation preparation fee is charged. Dealer charge for document preparation fee shall be in accordance with state laws. Only Kubota and select Kubota performancematched Land Pride and equipment is eligible. Inclusion of ineligible equipment may result in a higher blended A.P.R. Not available for Rental, National Accounts or Governmental customers. 0% A.P.R. and low rate ďŹ nancing may not be available with customer instant rebate (C.I.R.) offers. Financing is available through Kubota Credit Corporation, U.S.A., 3401 Del Amo Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503; subject to credit approval. Some exceptions apply. Offer expires 6/30/2011. See us for details on these and other low-rate options or go to www.kubota.com for more information.

K973-01-99064-3