Last week, as the brush pile burned and the halls of ISD166 smelled of smoke, I “stuck out my neck” and called the Grand Marais city officesto ask – when will this be over?
I have outdoor recess duty at the school and needed to know if it was safe for us to be outside. I wanted them to know how much it was affecting the school. Lots of us had severe headache and chest pains (same symptoms as H1N1) and we were worried.
I was first given a mini run-around – I was told to call the county offices who informed me that Grand Marais was responsible for the burn—and that the pile could be chipped, it doesn’t need to be burned.
I called the city back and was told that weather was the dominant factor in determining when to burn. School schedules would “frankly probably not matter” in future decisions to burn. The school, hospital, care center – the most vulnerable in our community – aren’t even on the radar screen of city offices?
In view of the fact that we have ordinances to ban cigarette smoking within so many feet of a school, hospital, or other public building, why is the city permitted to pollute the air in such a massive manner?
Why, when we are a mere phone call away, was the school (or hospital or care center) not informed, so we could plan alternatives?
I understand that we could be chipping rather than burning the brush pile. Is this what we might expect from the proposed biomass power plant? Is the city planning to burn the huge brush pile in the rec. park?
Please, city, consider that most of us don’t have the luxury to leave town for a few days to get away from the pollution. Lots of us work paycheck to paycheck and can’t afford to take days off because we can’t breathe in our workplace – we are vulnerable and need to be on your radar when you plan your next burn.
These are not rhetorical messages. We deserve answers.
Linda Bauer
Grand Marais
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