“The powers that be” have decided we are going to build a giant community center, cell phones will be coming to the Gunflint Trail and our school calendar next year will be very different.
The school board has voted to employ a new school calendar. Only one member of the board actually has children at the school. I recall one letter coming home to me and heard nothing of the apparent meeting that was held. Countless parents will have to find childcare for the “off Fridays,” the school day will be lengthened and the preschool calendar will be affected. My young children will now spend 11 hours away from home on school days. Why weren’t the parents allowed to vote?
Cell phones are coming to the wilderness. Our north woods peace will be shattered by annoying ring tones and people’s personal and business conversations as they hike through the woods. Personally, I enjoy my “unavailability.” Texting whilst fishing may be the new danger! Why weren’t we allowed to vote? Why were we not even told about this until after it was already certain to happen?
We are going to build a monstrous community center that locals neither need nor want. Maybe we can use some of that equally monstrous budget and money that the school will be saving to find a daycare center for those parents who will have to find childcare for when their children should have been in school.
As a single parent working a full-time job, I do not have the opportunity to attend public meetings as often as I would like. Instead I must rely on like-minded individuals and I can only express my opinions by phone or e-mail.
Those of us who live and work in this community and choose to raise our children here have opinions and they count. We need to stand up for ourselves.
I feel violated, angry and disgusted with local politics and our apparent lack of community voice.
Denise Martinson
Gunflint Trail
Leave a Reply