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Readers’ Views

Kudos to the People of Fairmont To the editor: A 1975 FHS Class Reunion brought me to town for Homecoming last weekend. The school and city-wide pride for the students was amazing and overwhelming. The parade, PIE pregame dinner and football game complete with marching band, were all full of positive energy and community strength. A group of us played mini-golf at the free city course.  We had a blast!  An impressive attraction for city residents and visitors alike. While in town we had a delicious dinner at Silo 67, a visit to The Hub and The Hive, bought books at the new ...

Readers’ Views

Asking for your Early Vote  To the Editor: Hi, I'm Jaime Bleess, District 2 Martin County Commissioner. Early voting started this week. I'm writing to ask for your support to help me continue to serve as your District 2 Commissioner (Central Fairmont Area). I currently serve on the following committees to represent the best interests of Martin County: Chair of the Joint Powers Workforce Board Prairie Lakes Transit Executive Committee  Martin County Library Board Martin County Building Committee Brown County Detox Board of Directors South Central EMS Board of ...

Readers’ Views

Who’s the Captain of the ship To the Editor: In 1981 my Honeywell manager lent me tapes by Michael Vance, concept designer with Roy and Walt Disney at its genesis and with Steve Jobs designed “Apple Values” at its inception. Creative Thinking, Creative Management and Management by Values were amazing, and his reading list. I bought and brought every one with ocean sailing with Roger Swanson in 1982. Vance stated, “Don’t sanction incompetence.” “You do no one any good allowing them to keep making mistakes.” Without efficiency, effectiveness, knowledge and speed you are ...

Readers’ Views

 Paulson’s Water You Love!  Visioneering May 15, 2026 Denise Elston and Tom Hovey of the DNR sent a letter to Ned Koppen in Fairmont Economic Development and Mark Gaalswyk of Easy Automation explaining the newly approved pilot study process and a 9 page “Required Nanobubble Aeration Application.”. You may recall I have been trying to get the city to apply for the Nanobubble permit for quite some time; Easy Environmental will help fill it out. August 18, 2026 Easy Environmental sent a specific proposal to City leaders. Summarized: $8,000 per month for 2 months rent to own; ...

Readers’ Views

It’s all in the name To the editor: When I was a kid, we had a city dump a mile north of town. It was for household garbage to get piled up and burned once a month, if the wind was right. When we moved to Fairmont, the city dump was a little northeast of town. It had an incinerator for household garbage, a good tall stack to get the smoke high enough to dissipate. Seemed to work just fine, regardless of wind direction. So, it looks like the preferred method of getting rid of garbage has always been to take it to the dump and burn it. (Up until recently, now we have to bury it, ...

Readers’ Views

Regain control of the debt To the editor: The National debt zooms past $40 trillion on Aug. 19, 2026, as the government borrows to cover military spending, tax cuts and social programs. These are not investments in infrastructure or the future. These are frivolous expenditures on wars of choice, ballrooms, lawsuits, illegal tariffs and breaks for the rich and big corporations. It is all on our backs and our children’s mortgaged futures. The only way to regain control of the debt is to increase taxes and reduce expenditure. Why not match $1 of new tax with $1 reduced ...