Asks for return of special monkey figurine

Sometime during the 2007 gun deer season, someone stole a statue off the bar at Foxy's Cattail Tap in Rib Lake. It's a statue of three monkey's playing cards. We would appreciate the return of this item, for it has a special meaning to all who visit Foxy's Cattail Tap, as one of the people that it represents is not in very good health. We would like to have it back with no questions asked. If you have to, leave it by the front door of Foxy's Cattail Tap. If you really want one that bad, ask at the bar and we will gladly get you your own. Thank you. — Scott Ulrich, Rib Lake

Says county DA missed ‘whole picture’

District attorney Karl Kelz is in a position and knew what he is doing when he decided to charge an elderly gentleman without even looking into the whole picture and without even considering the letters the elderly gentleman had for Kelz to look at, there is no one else to hold accountable but the DA, he should have looked at the whole situation. Charging people before looking seems to be happening too often to be acceptable here. In Mr Seegar’s case they charged him for crimes he didn’t commit and this isn’t the first time district attorney Karl Kelz has done this to people in the county, he has a history of drumming up charges that have no merit just so he can keep his numbers up and the money coming in. And the shame of it all is the age of this gentleman, I call this elder abuse. Kelz is hired by the people to do a job and not use an office for making his record in Madison or thinking he can do whatever he pleases and not have to be accountable. Kelz needs to be reading or looking at all the evidence or facts handed to him to see if a crime or no crime was committed instead of taking the lazy route or is it incompetence? He is an embarrassment to the county and apparently his truthfulness and ethics are being questioned in these cases leaving a black cloud of doubt lingering over his office. Maybe we need to seek out people who we could have confidence in and who would have higher ethical and moral standards, a district attorney who we could trust and who would do a job and not mislead the public. — Lori Hoffmann, Westboro

Thinks pool should be separate question

Why is Mark Reuter "sick to death of hearing people say they don't want their taxes to go up?"
When you're in a position to spend other taxpayers' dollars, some board members may forget that all taxpayers are not doctors, so their incomes are considerably less. Property taxes are a big part of the typical taxpayer's budget. Having said that, I believe all taxpayers want the children in our community well-educated, schools updated and maintained at a fair tax rate.
I believe a referendum to replace/update the pool should be one question and building a new fieldhouse a separate question on the proposed referendum. The pool, coupled with other major building is unfair to be put to a vote. This would allow the taxpayers to cast their vote on what updates and/or additions they agree to support for our children's future.
We need to put more emphasis on education and less on sports. Teaching our children about credit card debt, home loans, and the wise use of money should be at the top of the list. Students must learn at an early age to spend less money than they make and be proud they are in charge of their finances. Everyone controls his or her own destiny; otherwise, the debt will control you. — George Kalmon, Medford

DA responds to editorial, questions need to keep e-mails

After reviewing your editorial opinion in the May 2 edition of your newspaper, I would like to comment on your opinion. While it is an opinion and certainly the newspaper is entitled to it, it seemed strange in its tone and accusatorial nature.
I attended the Taylor County IT committee meeting with other elected officials after receiving notice the committee was about to begin the archival of all email messages regardless whether the messages saved were essential files or deleted garbage type messages. My main concern was the security of confidential information that by Wisconsin Statute only certain individuals can possess. Information concerning juveniles, mental commitments, human services and child support records are some matters, for example, that must be kept in the strictest confidentiality. My second concern consisted of the question I posed to the committee of why they would also archive deleted junk email. It is my understanding this archival system would cost the Taylor County approximately $12,000 a year. It seemed odd to me that deleted emails are to be archived but if a message of a similar nature were written on paper, a department would be allowed to throw it away. I simply asked the committee what was the difference. I received no answer to that particular question. I also posed this question to Mr. Luke Klink on April 29 when he telephoned my office. Mr. Klink similarly did not answer this question.
The example I used with the committee about sending Mr. Klink an email about free donuts is a good example. Mr. Klink states he or the public may want to know if I, or a county employee, sent out 100 similar electronic emails because it might show how time is misused. If those same messages are sent on paper and then thrown away in the garbage after receiving them, it seems very strange to assert we can destroy those types of messages because they're on paper but we must retain the electronic version at a cost of approximately $12,000 per year.
Contrary to the editorial opinion, I did not ask these tough questions because I wish to keep information from the public. Part of my duties as district attorney sometimes requires me to ask the tough questions. I am responsible for the prosecution of government officials who violate the Open Records laws in Taylor County. Occasionally, citizens write or visit my office with Open Records complaints. I am greatly concerned that if the county creates a policy ordering that all non-essential electronic records be retained permanently, yet all nonessential paper records may be destroyed; the county might be setting itself up for future litigation. Government is about equality and fairness. If a citizen has a right to look at a record that is retained electronically but not the same record if recorded on paper, the county might find itself in a very bad position attempting to justify their policy. This was the issue I wanted the committee to address prior to any policy being created. Nowhere in my comments to the committee or Mr. Klink did I advocate I wanted to hide records from the public. Which makes the editorial all the more troublesome.
The law in Wisconsin concerning Open Records is fairly clear. We do operate an open government. However, there is a certain list of exemptions in the statutes that prevent some records from being public. I was surprised I was compared to an individual who destroyed evidence in a criminal investigation simply because I wanted to discuss an issue and have an intelligent debate about what I see may be a potential problem. Mr. Klink mentioned to me in his telephone call to my office he has made some open records requests in the past and the county had denied those requests. Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the editorial. The newspaper and all citizens have the right, if they disagree with the government's decision to refuse an open record request, to petition the court for relief. Several newspapers throughout the state have filed such actions.
Additionally, in response to the editorial's example concerning telephone record subpoenas, there is a certain period of time in which the respective companies keep records. These companies do not keep the records indefinitely because of cost and storage issues.
Normally, I do not respond to letters or editorials I see in The Star News. However, when I see such unwarranted accusations simply because I wanted to initiate a debate of policy before it is implemented, I find it most troubling. As Thomas Jefferson stated, "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." I find it disturbing that a newspaper that claims to be "the watchdog of the people" would attempt to silence questions and debate by maliciously attacking an individual who wants to raise those questions. — Karl Kelz, Taylor County District Attorney

Praises SandBox child care providers on appreciation day

Provider Appreciation Day – Friday, May 9 – is a day to recognize the hard work and dedication of childcare providers, and to acknowledge their contributions to high-quality care.
For more than 34 years, the providers at Sand Box Child Care Center have delivered high-quality childcare programs and learning experiences to the children of our area.
On behalf of myself, my family, the Sand Box board of directors, and my co-workers at Memorial Health Center, I would like to express a heartfelt thank you to the providers at Sand Box for all that they do.
The providers at Sand Box strive to help our children develop socially, creatively, emotionally, physically, and intellectually.  Their contributions to our children’s development cannot be under-estimated.
Thank you Sand Box providers for your unselfish dedication, commitment, and compassion.  While May 9 marks an official day of appreciation, please know that the children and parents that benefit from Sand Box’s services appreciate you every day. — Angela Hupf, Medford

Democrats can’t run an election, let alone a country

This year’s presidential election is the classic case of lessor of two or three evils. For the Republicans, a moderate who has partnered with Democrats on three stupid bills. They are the McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform, McCain/Kennedy immigration, and the McCain/Leiberman climate stewardship act. On the Dem side it will be either Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Hussein Obama. Yes Barack Hussein Obama.
It is so much fun to watch the civil war in the Democratic party. Their primary is more entertaining than comedy central. Billy Bob Clinton who was self proclaimed as the first black president is now bringing race into this primary.
The Dems are so incompetent that they can't even run their own primary, how can they run this country? Since the Dumbocrats took over in 2006, gas has skyrocketed, the economy is going down, new housing has dropped off, inflation has gone up and congress has a lower approval rating than Bush. The Dems think it is more important to investigate if Roger Clemens was doing steroids than to investigate why speculators are bringing up the price of crude about $20-$25 per barrel more than it should be. They should be passing legislation to open up more oil fields for drilling.
This next part is a quote from Barack Hussein Obama's pastor.
In a sermon in April 2003, Wright said: "The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes three-strike laws and wants them to sing God Bless America.
"No! No No!
"God damn America … for killing innocent people.
"God damn America for treating citizens as less than humans.
"God damn America as long as she tries to act like she is God and supreme."
Wright can also be seen questioning America’s role in the spreading of the HIV virus that leads to AIDS. In another speech, made in the days before 9/11, he suggested that American foreign policy invited the terror attacks.
"We bombed Hiroshima. We bombed Nagasaki. And we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon and we never batted an eye," Wright said.
"We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because of stuff we have done overseas is now brought back into our own backyard. America's chickens coming home to roost."
The pastor also said: "The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. The government lied."
Senator Obama, as recently as 2006, it's reported that he contributed $22,500 to the pastor's church. Pastor Wright also went on a trip to Libya with Farrakhan to meet with Kadafy and Barack Hussein Obama attended the million man march with Louis Farrahkan. 
Hillary was proclaimed by the Dems as the smartest woman in America. What can be said about a woman who married a cheating hayseed from Arkansas. It is interesting that Hillary is being ripped apart by the mainstream media while there is a love fest for Barack Hussein Obama by this same media. The Dumbocrats campaign is about how bad America is and how bad life is in the US.  It is fitting that the symbol of the Democrats is a jackass. — Jack Hill, Wausau