Lions grateful to all

To the Editor:

We would like to express our extreme gratitude to everyone who attended the Lions’ fly-in breakfast on Sunday. Fairmont and the surrounding communities showed up in record numbers for our main fundraiser. We truly appreciate your support, and please know that the money we raise will be going to various organizations throughout our area and toward diabetes, eye and hearing research in our state.

We also would like to thank the Kinship leaders and helpers for their work bussing tables. Without their help, we don’t know if it would have been such a successful event.

We also would like to thank our sponsors and the many businesses that supported us during our event.

The Lions’ motto is “We Serve.” By coming and having breakfast with us, serving the Fairmont area is made much easier, and we look forward to seeing you again next year.

Tony Rosener, president

Fairmont Lions Club

Tyrants getting worse

To the Editor:

“Discord on council continues” is the headline in the Sentinel that greeted me on Tuesday. Is that ever an understatement. Face it, fellow Fairmont citizens, the “Town Tyrants” (council members Tom Hawkins, Ruth Cyphers and Randy Lubenow) are just not going to even try to be reasonable.

Dictator Hawkins still has his three votes in his pocket. Mayor Deb Foster and council members Bruce Peters and Wayne Hasek are putting up a fight, but it all comes down to votes and they are outvoted. (The mayor does not vote unless there is a tie).

I thought that the despicable way the Town Tyrants treated former City Attorney Elizabeth Bloomquist was sad and, I will say it, un-Christian. And now, after a separation agreement between the city and Bloomquist has been signed, the Town Tyrants are running their mouths about her in clear violation of that agreement.

Fairmont’s costs skyrocketed when we lost City Attorney Bloomquist, because to replace her we actually had to hire three people — someone to prosecute crimes, someone to serve as day-to-day counsel and someone — yet to be found — to handle human resources. So far, these new hires are temporary. Later contracts are sure to be even more expensive. And the Town Tyrants running their mouths in violation of the separation agreement will certainly add more costs if Bloomquist decides to sue the city.

On Monday evening, the Tyrants conducted their evaluation of City Administrator Mike Humpal. They met in closed session and did their rigged evaluation. But when they then met again in public session, they didn’t fire him on the spot like they did our former City Attorney, They postponed it. So what is the more cruel — a rigged quick evaluation and firing, or a sham evaluation and then making a person wait to be fired wait until the next council meeting? I’ll bet employee morale at City Hall is decidedly lacking. I can just see them all working to their best performance wondering when the hammer is going to hit the next person. My guess is that the city’s employees are working overtime to update their resumes in anticipation of leaving the sinking ship that is Fairmont.

I have met City Administrator Humpal a couple times. While I have not come to a final conclusion of what I think of his performance, I would never treat another human being as the Town Tyrants have just treated this man — absolutely despicable.

When their terms on the council are up, Hawkins, Lubenow and Cyphers must go! But if the committee that wanted to recall Hawkins is still meeting, then the collusion between these three Tyrants that is occurring before City Council meetings must be a violation of state law that should force their recall.

Jack H. Hansen

Fairmont

Support appreciated

To the Editor:

It is such a pleasure to live in an area where our youth are considered special assets and future leaders. I would like to take this opportunity to honor and thank the Martin County Youth Foundation for its exceptional service to our are youth organizations with grants recently awarded.

The MCYF grants to Community Education and Recreation provide exciting and memorable learning opportunities to youth through summer enrichment activities and youth activity scholarships. Activities featuring quality learning experiences, youth sports and aquatic programs are some of the summer activities made possible for youth to engage by MCYF’s generosity.

Special thanks to the Martin County Youth Foundation and the many youth activity/organization volunteers who care so much about our youth by actively making a positive difference in their lives.

Roni Dauer, director,

Fairmont Community Education

and Recreation