Opinions

To the editor:

Why would anyone believe that Donald Trump would do anything that would fix our broken income tax system to benefit the average American taxpayer? Trump hasn’t given specifics about many the policies he’d enact as president; he has said enough to give a good sense of who would benefit the most. It’s not the middle-class voters he claims to champion.

Evidence continues to mount that he has used this rigged and broken system to get out of paying federal taxes for years, maybe decades. Why would you believe he would fix a tax system that works in his favor? He brags about exploiting the system to get out of paying any taxes at all.

We lived in a new house on the corner of Lieg Avenue and Evergreen Street until I was almost 6. One day, my dad announced we would be “going on a little adventure” and moving to a small farm on the outskirts of Marion.

Some adventure! The farmhouse was old, and there was no indoor plumbing. There was a cistern pump in the kitchen, and behind the house was an outhouse! Quite a change from our lovely new house to this old one, even for a child.

I recollect my mother saying we’d be fine. In later years, she shared with me how difficult it was for her, too.

I vividly remember taking a bath in a wash tub with water my mother heated in a tea kettle on the wood stove. Makes me think of “Little House on the Prairie.” I sure missed our bathtub!

To the editor:

Once again, Mr. Watters is telling people how to vote. I always thought that was a personal choice for all U.S. citizens.

Well, if you follow Mr. Watters’ advice, you would definitely vote Democrat! That is good! The reason being all the candidates in our district have not been in office for the past eight years to do any of the voting he has mentioned, such as high taxes, big government programs, military spending, cutting school funding, etc.

Who has controlled the House and Senate for the last eight years? If you check, you will find out that it has been the Republicans. Not only in Washington, but also right here in Wisconsin.

Our kids and grandkids are paying the price here, thanks to all the cuts to public schools, just so private schools can be funded by vouchers; schools that don’t have special education for the kids who need extra help.

To the editor:

Here’s to the lighter side of a political dilemma. Owing to the apparent unavailability of a decent candidate for either major party, it seems that the U.S. Congress will have to make a special offer to Mr. Obama for overtime — four years of overtime, in his present office.

Both upcoming hopefuls are limited; one by the curse of male chauvinists who would never vote for a woman, regardless, and the other who is crippled verbally, in a manner of speaking, that befits a middle school punk bully.

Brian K. Semrau,

Shawano

To the editor:

Great job to the Shawano Pathways organization for the outstanding effort they put in for the Shawano Bike the Barn Quilt event.

It takes many volunteers to run this event, with Shawano Pathways enlisting Boy Scout Troop 32 and countless volunteers to have the activities run smoothly.

The added feature of the mini-quilts that benefited SAM25, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Boys & Girls Club showed the outpouring of generosity in the Shawano community.

I really want to let them know that this was a tremendous idea to do mini-quilts at the schools, and I was more than impressed with how they were displayed along Main Street leading up to the event. My son was fortunate enough to have his quilt chosen to be displayed along one of the routes. He was very happy and proud to see it, and I’m sure it was a nice boost to all the young artists’ artistic self-esteem to see their quilts prominently displayed along Main Street.

To the editor:

The year was 2000. Deer gun and archery season harvest was 615,293. In 2015, deer gun and archery harvest was 309,329. Something wrong?

I grew up in western Shawano County. Last year, I did not see that many deer when hunting. I saw more deer in the 1960s. That area has had too many crop damage tags. Once again, tags are being issued. We don’t need them anymore. This year when you buy a license, you get one buck and three antlerless tags. That’s ridiculous.

There are too many wolves. I hope the wolf gets off the endangered species list. The wolf needs to be hunted like the coyote. Last year hunting from a pop-up blind, I had a wolf pass me at 17 yards. Two or more wolves will really be an issue.

Trickle-down deer hunts for the sportsmen must stop. Can’t do much for 2016 — the hunt has started? Wrong! One thing that can be done is only fill one tag, maybe two if you bow and gun hunt.

To the editor:

I am writing this in response to the institution of the new bullying ordinance in Shawano. This ordinance is an attempt to prevent bullying by giving the parents of the bully a fine of $366, which could increase per subsequent offense.

It’s outrageous that local governments believe they can end bullying in this fashion when the outcome could potentially be worse for victims. Schools could classify almost anything as bullying, from joking with friends to hitting another student.

When I attended Shawano High School, I had an incident with another student in a gym class. This altercation resulted in me receiving a broken nose even though I was not the one who started the fight. The punishments that resulted from this seemed very unfair. I had to visit multiple doctors and experience pain for a period of time, and today I still have to deal with a disfigured nose.

To the editor:

As thousands of students in the Wolf River District complete the first few weeks of the 2016-17 school year, Junior Achievement of Wisconsin is kicking off its annual operating campaign to help students manage money and learn about business.

Through the generous investment of individuals and companies throughout the district, approximately 2,700 of the students attending Shawano and Menominee county public, private and parochial schools will experience Junior Achievement. JA is a program that gives kindergarten through 12th-grade students the knowledge and skills to plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.

My mother often read nursery rhymes to me when I was a child. The book she read from was given to her by her mother. When I was old enough to read, I would sit for hours reading the nursery rhymes to myself. When I married, my mother knew how much I loved the book, and she gave it to me so I could read it to my children.

When cleaning a closet recently, I found the book tucked away on a top shelf. The memories overcame me as I sat on the bed and read Humpty Dumpty to myself. I am not sure if nursery rhymes are still being read to children, but they were once very popular.

I never thought too deeply about the troubling words of some of the rhymes until now. I decided to do a little research and learned some intriguing history I thought you might find interesting too.

The first known publication of nursery rhymes was in 1744 and the first confirmed collection of nursery rhymes using the term “Mother Goose” was published in 1780.

To the editor:

I have had the pleasure of meeting Mike Gallagher on two occasions. Each time, I have been thoroughly impressed.

As Mike Gallagher has served seven years active duty in the Marine Corps, I shared with him my son’s military aspirations. Mike gave me his personal contact information, noting that he is currently just a civilian, but would love to talk with my son, offering to provide guidance in deciding which route would best suit him.

I found that Mike Gallagher is truly concerned about the issues facing our community. This includes the challenges to the local employers, especially in the smaller cities, villages and townships of the 8th District. From the farmer to the papermaker, he understands the importance these local jobs have on the economic health of the area.