LETTERS TO THE
E DITOR Colby cheese bill brought us closer to community
To the editor: I had the distinct honor and great pleasure to be at the State Capitol in Madison on Wednesday, Jan. 29, with members of the Colby community. The event was a hearing held before the Senate Committee regarding the passage of Assembly Bill 572 naming Colby as the State Cheese of Wisconsin.
The members who introduced the bill, the Colby High School show choir, the members of the community who spoke, other members of the community who were present, and the fourthgrade students who sent letters, have my gratitude.
Colby cheese has always been a part of my family. My mother, Betty (Steinwand) Nadolny, was Joseph Steinwand’s oldest daughter, so my memories and stories of Colby go a long way back. I was very humbled by the passion and pride that the Colby community has.
Although our family is now in the Milwaukee area, we do visit several times a year and spend a lot of time in Medford, but until being with all of the people in Madison, I did not feel a strong connection to the community, but that has changed.
It is definitely time that the people of Colby and the surrounding communities get recognition for what the nation knows. Colby cheese is a product that reflects the good, hard-working, strong people of Wisconsin and should have the distinction of being our state cheese.
Again, thank you to all of the people I met in January. It was an honor and pleasure. I hope to see some of you at this year’s Colby Cheese Days! Ann Luckey Cedarburg
Trump needs to do more to support ethanol in fuel
To the editor: In President Trump’s State of the Union address, he touted United States oil and natural gas production. While that’s great for oil companies, farmers in the ethanol industry are getting the short end of the stick.
Wisconsin is the nation’s eighthlargest ethanol producer, and the industry supports over 30,000 families of grain producers, haulers and refiners across the state.
Unfortunately, due to this administration’s careless granting of Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs), large oil corporations like Chevron and Exxon can bypass blending ethanol into their fuel as required by the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Ethanol is one of the few renewable fuels that can be used in just about any car on the road. Continuing to exempt ethanol not only hurts Wisconsin farmers but increases our carbon footprint.
A few weeks ago, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court ruled against some exemptions to massive oil corporations. It is now time for the Trump administration to follow the rule of law and stay true to homegrown biofuels.
The next growing season will be critical to grain producers across the nation.
Ben Augustine
Sheldon
