Vote No to the Martin County West (MCW) School Referendum by Nov. 7th

To the Editor

In 1988 the towns of Trimont, Sherburn, Welcome and Dunnell consolidated together to form Martin County West. For 25 years we have been showing others how to join together for success. One of our primary concerns with the current MCW Referendum is our own town of Trimont. We have been members of the Trimont community our entire lives. We are so incredibly proud of our community. Our homes and streets are well kept, our 4-H clubs keep our corners beautiful, we built our own Town Center with community support and boast many successful businesses.

Our greatest fear with this referendum passing is the future of Trimont. It is well known that a school in a town keeps businesses around, increases home values and creates connectivity between citizens. We believe that a thriving MCW district requires all of our towns to be successful. MCW was created to bring us together, build a common ground and ensure all of our towns remained alive and vibrant.

Driving down the Main Street of any small town that has lost its school paints a depressing picture. We believe this is why the City of Lakefield fought so hard to remodel the school in Lakefield rather than creating a one town Jackson County central School District in Jackson. A drive through Lakefield, MN further emphasized the importance of keeping schools in our small towns. Lakefield, MN continues to beat the odds and draw new families to its town.

There is a lot of pride in Trimont, both for our community and our school district. Our Town Center was built only because of strong community backing. We are scared to think of what our town will become without the stronghold of a school building anchoring it. We want to see a rural revival in Trimont, not a future ghost town. We are voting No because Trimont is a town worth saving.

Please take the time to read the article: “The Significance of a School to a Rural Community”. At https://jrre.psu.edu/sites/default/files/2019-08/17-3_1.pdf We are asking the residents of MCW to vote NO so we can work on a different referendum that supports all of our communities.

Kermit and Robin Carlson

Trimont