Letters to the Editor published in the March 23, 2022 issue of the Tomahawk Leader.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following are paid letters to the Editor, per Tomahawk Leader policy.
Vote ‘no’ on the referendum
How much money is enough for our schools, will another 3.25 million dollars a year for three years be enough especially after generous extra funding for Covid relief has been given at the state and federal level.
I doubt it as we have had referendums before and here we are again.
We as a district have voted this down not once but twice.
In this time of runaway inflation of 7.9% and is likely to go higher, gas is over four dollars a gallon, home heating cost are thru the roof, ground beef is as high as 5 dollars a pound. We already have a wheel tax of twenty dollars per vehicle per year and they are talking about a utility tax.
We have no idea what is going to happen on the world stage that may drive cost even higher, our school says it will only raise our taxes $1.49 per thousand which is $149 per hundred thousand. We have a large population living on a fixed income, and many living pay check to pay check, when you include everything above it is not affordable currently.
Our school enrollment keeps going down each year, so why are our expenses not going down?
As a household if I can’t afford something with my budget I must do without. Most Tomahawk residents live by these principles.
I think it is time that our government and schools work the same way.
Vote no on the referendum!
James K. Meunier
Tomahawk
Write-in Paul Gilk for Supervisor
To the citizens of the 12th District in the towns of Tomahawk, Harding, and Corning:
I’m writing to let you know I’ve registered as a write-in candidate for the April 5th election
On Feb. 15, I got whupped in the primary election. As a five-term incumbent that sort of stung. I can take getting beat fair and square, but I can’t quite stomach getting hammered by misrepresentation and half-truths.
What I mean is this: Jon Weiler alleges that I have been unaccountable and inaccessible. How he can say that is a mystery to me because it simply isn’t true. The only people I’ve ever hung up on are robo callers and sleazy scam artists. I listen to constituents and always have.
As far as I can ascertain, Jon hasn’t put forward a single proposal for what he would actually do if elected. His campaign (complete with glossy oversized postcards mailed from Reno, Nevada) is devoid of content.
Julie at least complains about county debt. So there’s a bit of content to her candidacy. But it’s an illusion to think that counties don’t borrow when the need arises. The Lincoln County jail was funded by borrowing. The Service Center was funded by borrowing. The two additions to Pine Crest Nursing Home were funded by borrowing. Businesses do borrowing. Families do borrowing. Governments, including county governments, do borrowing. That’s just a fact of life. And it’s downright silly to pretend that borrowing is irresponsible. Counties don’t have a big pot of reserve funds with which to do large projects. Borrowing the money is the only rational way to get big projects done, since robbing banks is still illegal.
As to cutting out the fat, well, there are employees of Lincoln County who make good middle-class incomes, more than I’ve ever made. But those folks are qualified professionals who know their jobs. Probably every one of them could make a lot more money in the private sector or with a larger county. They stay in Lincoln County because they’re committed to the place. To our place.
So it’s time to quit whining, stop the baseless allegations and get real about our lean – but not mean – county government. And I’m asking you to write in Paul Gilk for county supervisor on April 5.
Paul Gilk
Merrill