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Readers’ Views

Baby Cafe here for you

To the Editor:

Thanks to all of you who came to support the grand opening of Fairmont’s Baby Cafe. We hope you enjoyed your time and were able to leave with education, information and support for your breastfeeding journey.

Baby Cafe is staffed by professional certified lactation nurses who are here to help if you are having issues, to connect you with resources and to introduce you to other mothers/families within our community.

We are a casual, free walk-in resource for all prenatal mothers, new mothers and significant others, no matter where you doctor at.

We are open from 9-11 a.m. every Wednesday (except holidays) and are located in the main classroom at Mayo hospital, entrance 6. We look forward to helping you meet your breastfeeding goals.

Patti Kasper

Fairmont

Help fight pornography

To the Editor:

Nationwide, this is White Ribbon Against Pornography (WRAP) Week. It is intended to educate the public about the extent of the pornography problem.

I will give you a couple of examples of pornography. One is “sexting.” It is sending, receiving or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs or images between mobile phones or any digital device. Another example is the magazine Cosmopolitan. In some stores you will see it in the checkout lines at the eye level of young adults. Earlier this year, Walmart agreed to remove Cosmopolitan from the checkout lines in an effort to reduce sexual exploitation. Thank you, Walmart. Hopefully more stores will follow your lead.

Another important event this year was when federal government shut down backpage.com, which was making millions of dollars advertising prostitution and sex trafficking involving adults and children.

So you ask, what can I do as a concerned citizen to stop pornography? You can: 1) Make complaints to your U.S. attorney and state prosecutor about possible violations of federal or state obscenity laws, or contact the local police department. 2) Ask city, county and state legislators to curb “sexually oriented businesses.” 3) Make complaints to businesses that distribute or advertise pornography. If retail outlets, cable TV systems, hotels or newspapers in your community distribute or carry ads for pornography, tell them (politely but firmly) that they are hurting your community — and consider taking your business elsewhere. You should also make complaints about sexually offensive magazine covers displayed at supermarket and drug store checkout counters. 4) Educate yourself and your family on the harms of porn. Did you know in some states sexting is considered a form of pornography and you can be arrested? Pornography is an addiction that can be harder to break than drugs like cocaine and heroin. 5) If you want help and can’t stop viewing pornography, there is a list of programs and groups that can help you on the website listed at the end of this article. Take some time and check it out, porn is harmful to children, families, marriages and it can lead to sexual harassment and sex trafficking.

For more information about the WRAP campaign and where to get help with your addiction go to www.endsexualexploitation.org

One last thing. The most important thing we can do is pray for an end to pornography, and pray not only for the victims but also for the perpetrators.

Lola Schultz

Catholic Daughters

of the Americas

Court Joan of Arc No. 691

Blue Earth

Consider a donation

To the Editor:

Temperatures are falling, leaves are falling, balances are falling. What was that last one?

As the school year is underway, Heaven’s Table Food Shelf is continuing to help students in our Martin County schools through the Backpack Program. Each week, up to 350 students receive a bag of easy-to-prepare or ready-to-eat meal, snack and beverage items. This bag, discreetly placed in the student’s backpack by faculty or staff, bridges the weekend gap for those receiving free and reduced breakfast and lunch during the school week. The cost per child is about $78 for the school year.

In the past, Heaven’s Table Food Shelf has benefited from corporate sponsors as well as individual donations for this program. We are asking community members to consider making a contribution to the Backpack Program, to continue this important means of meeting the nutritional needs of our youngest citizens on weekends. Donations can be mailed to: Heaven’s Table Food Shelf, P.O. Box 745, Fairmont, MN 56031. We are grateful for your partnership in this program.

Sue Redman

Heaven’s Table Food Shelf

board member

Fairmont

Which party backs life?

To the Editor:

We are only days away from the mid-term elections. There is one issue that I believe supersedes all others. That issue is abortion.

We as a nation have murdered 60-plus million human beings since 1973. We are supposed to be a civilized country, not a heathen nation. To allow babies to be killed in the womb flies in the face of God Almighty. Psalms 139:13-16 expresses how we are made. Verse 14 says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” If you read this whole passage, you cannot deny that life begins at conception and that which is in the mother’s womb is a human being. Abortion is premeditated murder and the Bible says, “Thou shalt not kill.” And that is what is meant in this commandment.

The Democratic Party has made no bones about it. They believe in abortion, even up to almost the day of delivery of the baby. It boggles my mind to think that these precious babies are being killed inside the womb and it is not a crime, but if that baby were born and someone tried to kill it, they would be arrested and charged with a crime. We do have a double standard.

According to the voters guide printed by the MCCL, there was not one single Democrat who said they were against abortion. However, all of the Republicans did answer their questions and they were all against abortion.

I am a Christian and I cannot and will not bring myself to vote for someone who is willing to kill another human being. And I would challenge you who read this letter, that if you claim to be as Christian, you also cannot vote for someone willing to kill babies. Again, I point out that this is the most important issue on the ballot this year. And even if you have never voted Republican before, once again, if you claim to be a Christian, you cannot vote Democratic.

Allen Burnham

Truman

Taxing and spending

To the Editor:

How much will a 6.5 percent increase in taxes cost property owners for the planned community center? Let’s do a little arithmetic.

Property taxes are based on the “taxable market value” of properties. In my neighborhood, this ranges from about 70 to 90 percent of the “estimated market value” (the assessment estimate or actual selling price).

A few days ago, I checked the prices of 51 properties for sale in Fairmont by Century 21. The average price was $151,939. The 2018 property tax paid on a property in my neighborhood with a “taxable market value” of about $151,000 was $2,200. A tax increase of 6.5 percent on $2,200 is then $143, probably the average for Fairmont.

Fairmont property taxes generally increase yearly. All the city government wants to do is “tax and spend.” They ignore basic infrastructure necessities. Are they all Democrats? Let’s remember that many citizens in Fairmont are on fixed incomes.

Henry W. Roehler

Fairmont

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