Everyone has a niche and an idea, so let them be heard

They both have large territories to cover, as part of their assigned districts, but Sen. Jesse James (left) and Rep. Rob Summerfield made sure that those in the Cornell area, had a time to express concerns and ideas this spring. While the two are only small pieces to the overall large puzzle of state government, they take their constituents’ concerns seriously and promised to do what they can to get issues resolved. Photo by Ginna Young

By Ginna Young

This spring, Sen. Jesse James and Rep. Rob Summerfield were in Cornell, holding a listening session, to hear concerns of their constituents. It was also a chance to share information that the public might be aware of and to take notes on what is requested, to the state level.

By holding listening sessions, it helps the lawmakers stay in touch with the rural communities they serve.

“I love being the voice of up here, down in Madison,” said James. “Now, it’s only one voice, but I definitely will say what’s on my mind in caucus.”

Given a chance to share concerns, one such worry that is plaguing many, is healthcare – not only physical, but mental. Ashley Carothers, with the Bloomer Ambulance Service, spoke about how volunteer EMS are getting left behind, when it comes to mental health resources.

“There needs to be something out there for us,” she said. “We’re forgotten about. Where can we go from here?”

Summerfield feels the problem with the lack of resources, is that it’s perceived as a rural vs. urban issue. He knows they are far behind in that regard and need to bridge the gap.

“We’ve kind of got somewhat of a game plan,” he said.

Pam Guthman also shared about how rural areas are seeing a “heaviness” happening in EMS services, as the predominantly older population is relying more and more on 911 calls. The reason? There’s not enough prevention and public health that is supported by lawmakers.

“When your prevention isn’t happening, you’re going to have more heaviness on those pieces that are already at the tertiary level,” said Guthman.

She pointed out that people need resources and insurance, to make sure there is access to the healthcare they need.

James feels its the same with daycare, as he is not seeing the urban cities crying out for childcare options.

Moving from healthcare to roads, Cornell mayor Mark Larson questioned if there’s something that politicians can do to waive the fee to apply for grants. For example, Cornell was turned down last year, for a grant to reconstruct a city street. To reapply, the city had to again pay to do so, depleting funds meant for said road improvements.

Larson gets asked daily, by citizens, when the city is going to fix their road.

“And I don’t have the answer for them,” said Larson.

Another item of concern, was fixing local bridges. Summerfield mentioned that they are looking at putting more money into the funding programs. However, each bridge is unique, so they must look at length, difficulty of reconstruction, etc.

All those pieces mean that they have to try to work as a partnership, between the county and state, to repair as many bridges as possible.

Depending on state or federal money is not always the best option, as James pointed out. Yes, Wisconsin currently has some surplus, but that will not always be available.

“The writing’s on the wall,” said James. “We need to be prepared for that. We need to be fiscally responsible.”

The two promised to do their best to represent citizens’ concerns to their colleagues at the state level.

“There are just so many moving parts,” said Summerfield.

“It is our job to look out for our rural constituents, and take care of them and come up with ideas,” said James. “If you have ideas, they need to be heard and shared. Each of us have a niche.”