Your Letters: April 22
A great LEAP
for kindness
To all the Door County high school students involved in “LEAP! A Human Kindness Project”:
I want to tell you again how inspiring you were – no, ARE. You are talented, creative, generous, BRAVE, honest, and so incredibly supportive of each other. THANK YOU for creating such a powerful and moving piece.
I could experience your thought-provoking performance – such an eloquent and effective blend of spoken word, poetry, music, dance and multi-media – again and again, and learn more each time! I'm so glad the audience Friday evening was packed, receptive, and enthusiastic.
Please accept this letter as my wholehearted ovation for each and every one you students; for the 10 outstanding producers, directors, choreographers, and coaches who guided you; for the organizations that supported and sponsored you; and for all of your teachers, principals and superintendents who made it possible for Gibraltar, Sevastopol, Southern Door, and Sturgeon Bay schools to coordinate on this awe-inspiring project, bringing your important anti-bullying, pro-compassion message to your peers and your community.
Thank you for helping us all Learn to Empower and Appreciate all People. Whenever the bad news in the world gets me down, I will remember that all of you amazing people are headed out there to make the world better.
Keep doing what you’re doing; keep being your wonderful selves. My family and I are so proud to know you. BRAVO.
Mary Hall
Sturgeon Bay
Speak up
for crime victims
Every year, millions of people’s lives are forever changed by crime. They are our families, neighbors, friends, and colleagues.
Crime victims often struggle to work, pay bills, or support their families. Many have life-changing injuries and some may need long-term care and support.
April 19-25 is National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. It’s a time we can all reach out to victims of crime, listen to what they need, and help them rebuild their lives.
We all play a role. The Door County District Attorney’s office provides assistance to victims by helping them learn about their legal rights and options; cope with the impact of crime; access victim compensation; develop a safety plan while working with outside agencies, and navigate the criminal justice and social service systems.
If you or a person you know are a victim of crime and have questions, or need further assistance please contact your local Victim/Witness Assistance Program.
Raymond L. Pelrine
Door County District Attorney
Lisa A. Mraz
Coordinator, Door County Victim/
Witness Assistance Program
Awesome response
from students, public
“Wow, wow!” That was the excitement we heard as 3,000 participants attended the Mind Trekkers program at Southern Door High School on April 10 and 11.
We saw participants walk on water, watch liquid nitrogen blow water 40 ft. into the air, get surrounded by a giant bubble, view a pingpong ball being sent through a soda can, and play a banana piano. Students from grades 5-8 in Door and Kewaunee counties were guided by students from Michigan Tech University through the exhilaration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) as part of a field trip.
Many students returned the following day – when open to the public to share the excitement with their parents, grandparents and siblings. All of this was made possible by the generous donations of time, talent and sponsorships by community members and area businesses.
This special program could not have happened without Southern Door School District and their staff, especially Patti, Dan, Steve, and Missy. We thank the Door Kewaunee Business Education Partnership, steered by Tara LeClair, for the meticulously thought-out and coordinated details between schools and businesses.
We appreciate the support of our local businesses; we couldn’t do this without you. Thank you, Therma-Tron-X, Hatco Corp., Bay Shipbuilding Co., NextEra Energy Inc., Wisconsin Public Service Foundation, The Fulwiler Foundation, AT&T, Rockline Industries, and Ministry Door County Medical Center.
To the students who participated, we hope you had the experience of a lifetime in terms of learning and example.We are proud to be a part of this community.
Women’s Fund of Door County
Support appreciated
On behalf of the Sevastopol referendum committee, thank you for your “YES” vote on the recent Sevastopol School referendum. Knowing that our community feels so strongly about the value of education can’t help but inspire the students, teachers, staff and administrators of the district.
This kind of civic pride is one of the things that makes Sevastopol such a wonderful place to live. In the midst of negative stories about eroding communities and failing schools, it is uplifting and reassuring to know that Sevastopol is getting it right.
We have a strong, supportive community and a hardworking school focused on continuous improvement and excellence. The sense of trust and pride that has developed over the years between residents and the school is something to be treasured.
Veronica Behme
Sturgeon Bay
Village president
says thanks
I owe the people of Forestville a thank you. Our little municipality had a better than projected turnout in this month’s spring election, and I’m very proud to live in such an active community.
We had a 34 percent turnout, and 56 of those people went out of their way to write my name in as village president. I did take an effort to fill in that circle where there is no name and write one in.
I am truly grateful for the vote of confidence and look forward to continuing to work for our best interest.
Terry McNulty
Forestville
Imagine another
alternative
In regards to the April 11 letter titled “Imagine the alternatives,” predicting a dire future for the West Side should the proposed hotel not be built: What a fine piece of fiction that was, a falling-domino theory made up of worst-case scenarios derived from nothing other than the writer’s wild imagination.
I can do the same thing in the other direction. Imagine what could happen if the hotel were not built. The people of Sturgeon Bay would combine expertise, materials and man hours to create a beautiful park with walkways and benches to sit and enjoy the bay, Wisconsin wildflower plantings overseen by the Master Gardeners and bird and bat houses, an interactive station set up inside the refurbished granary where children can find “treasure hunt” maps and adults can find information about the tugs and how they work, and about the nature found in the park.
“People’s Park” would become a destination for visitors, both for what it has to offer, and because it was the result of love and hard work of ordinary citizens. Nearby restaurants would offer boxed lunches for families who want to stroll the park, visit the Maritime Museum, watch the tugs, or walk or bike the bridges to Martin Park for concerts in the band shell.
Painters and photographers would schedule visits to the town that loves its working harbor and provides leisurely views for everyone, and would stay at places like Bridgeport, Stone Harbor, any of the chain hotels, or the quaint B&Bs that abound. All, no matter where they stayed, would enjoy the park.
Entrepreneurs, or those wishing to leave big-city life, would be attracted to this small city where the waterfront is treasured for everyone, where a beautiful view is valued, where its citizens love and care for their town enough to work together to keep those things alive, and where a government actually listens to its constituents. Eventually, empty stores would fill, vacant lots would be built on by people who appreciate the attitude of Sturgeon Bay enough to invest their own money, rather than borrow from the taxpayers.
The West Side would thrive, while still remaining the “quiet side,” and would become an example of what can happen in a city that realizes tourism grows out of more than big hotels or crass commercialism, that’s willing to think outside the box, that in the end sets a trend other cities want to learn about and follow.
THAT’S what could happen if the hotel isn’t built.
Monica Sawyn
Sturgeon Bay