Separation of church and state
Freedom From Religion Foundation asks for an end to prayer at board meetings
by Mary Stirrat Leader staff writer BALSAM LAKE — Meetings of the Polk County Board of Supervisors begin with roll call, a prayer by a supervisor, and the pledge to the American flag, but the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation is hoping to change the status quo. FFRF, in a letter to the board dated Feb.
7, is asking that the practice of praying at the meetings be discontinued. “Our national organization,” the letter states, “which works to keep state and church separate, has been contacted by members of our organization who strenuously oppose the practice of prayers at county board meetings.” Each month a different supervisor says a prayer, takes a moment of silence, or offers words of inspiration or advice as they deem appropriate. The process takes about 60 seconds. The letter from FFRF, signed by co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor, reads as follows: “Government prayer is unnecessary, in-
appropriate and divisive. Calling upon board members to rise and pray (even silently) is coercive, embarrassing and beyond the scope of secular government. Board members are free to pray privately or to worship on their own time in their own way. They do not need to worship on taxpayers’ time.” Gaylor goes on to say that by allowing public prayer the county gives its endorsement, power and prestige to something that excludes the nonreligious population, compounding the violation when the majority of prayers are Christian in nature. Citizens approaching the board on civil, secular matters “should not be subjected to a religious show or test,” she
writes, “or be expected to demonstrate religious obeisance at a county function. “We fail to see why divine guidance is needed over such earthly matters anyway,” she adds. Speaking on behalf of FFRF membership and our secular constitution, writes Gaylor, the board is urged to concentrate on county matters, setting a tone in line with the U.S. Constitution. “May we hear from you at your earliest convenience about what steps you are taking to remedy this First Amendment violation?” Gaylor concludes. The board took no action on the letter.
Webster Library project ahead of schedule
Closure for found contamination expected by end of month
by Sherill Summer Leader staff writer WEBSTER - The Webster Village Board absorbed good news about the library project at their regular monthly meeting, Wednesday, April 13. First of all, the library project is ahead of schedule. The new concrete floor slabs are in, and the interior wood framing is almost done. Work on the entry addition should begin soon, once the frost is out of the ground, and work will also begin on the exterior. The scheduled completion date is July 22, and the library should be able to move into the new location soon after completion. The final exterior color scheme has been finalized. A drawing of the color scheme is on view in the current library. The second piece of good news on the library front is that the state Department of Commerce is reviewing the closure requests for the contamination found at the new library site, contamination from the building’s previous life as Larsen’s Auto
Center and back even further when it was a gas station. The new floor in the library effectively capped the contamination found near the old hydraulic hoists, and no cap is necessary where the soil was excavated near the old fuel tanks. MSA expects conditional closure from the Department of Commerce by the end of the month. Once received, the test wells stationed around the property can be abandoned.
Street sweeper purchase The village board approved the purchase of a 2003 street sweeper to replace the current sweeper. The new-to-the-village sweeper has low hours, the village will receive $2,500 trade-in for the old sweeper, there is free delivery and the $47,500 price tag can be paid in two lump sums, half this year and half next year, with no interest charged on the balance to be paid next year. There is $12,000 set aside in a replacement fund for a sweeper. The balance of this year’s payment will be taken out of the streets fund. Restorative Justice donation The village donated $200 to the Restora-
No reserve/from page 1 hitchhiked to New Jersey to pick it up they almost always say ‘You did not!’ and then say I’m crazy,” Larson said, laughing. “I always say, ‘You don’t have to be crazy ... but sometimes it helps.’” Some might say it was a wise move. Larson saved as much as $800 by not having to buy a bus or plane ticket. And the more he thinks about his decision to hitchhike, the fewer reservations he has. It began as a quest for adventure and suspense, he said. “I wondered what kind of challenges God might put in front of me,” he said, smiling.
No reserve auction The discovery on eBay of a red Dodge Ram, V10, complete with snowplow, seemed like the answer to a six-month search Larson had conducted for a new truck - reasonably priced. The eBay listing was a “no reserve” auction, meaning the seller didn’t set a minimum price. The highest bidder, regardless of the price at the end of the auction, would win it. Larson said he did some research and discovered the value of the truck was approximately $7,300. He posted a bid of $3,000 and when he was outbid a day or so later by someone who bid $3,500, he countered with a bid of $3,900, thinking that was his limit. “You are currently the high bidder,” the eBay Web site proclaimed. “It was a Thursday and my son called me that night while I was bowling and said ‘Dad, you’re still the high bidder with only eight minutes to go ...’” Larson said. “I told him I’d probably get outbid at the last minute as usual.” It was a surprise when his son called again to say he had won the truck. Larson wired $200 within 24 hours to secure the bid, and over the next two weeks he kept in contact with the seller to
see when he could travel to Sussex, New Jersey and get it. And he pondered for a while before deciding to hitchhike, “Some people said there were some truckers who left this area for the East Coast - hauling cheese - on a regular basis,” Larson said. “I missed my ride by an hour the first Saturday, but it worked out the following Saturday.” Signing a waiver, Larson hopped on board the semi and it was smooth sailing through three states. They stopped at a truck stop, he bought the driver supper and they slept in the truck’s sleeper cab. Other than getting a little cold on the floor of the camper, the hitchhiking was going well. The next morning they made it most of the way through Pennsylvania. The trucker took Larson as far as he could, leaving him at a truck stop. “I talked to another trucker there and he was going the other way so that didn’t work out - but then my phone rang and it was the first trucker who said another truck would be coming through in 15 minutes. “ Larson made the connection and was back on the road, getting closer to his destination.
Real hitchhiking After an hour riding with the second trucker - who Larson found out was from Burnett County - the destination was within 42 miles. The trucker was heading further east, so Larson got out and started walking. “It’s getting late in the day now,” Larson said. “About 5:30 or so - and I’m walking for two or three miles, and a guy in a pickup drives by and slows down to pick me up.” “He said ‘I usually don’t pick up hitchhikers but you look pretty harmless ...” Larson said the guy commented on how
Incoming village President Jeff Roberts, re-elected trustee Kelly Gunderson and re-elected trustee Tim Maloney took their oath of office following the Wednesday, April 13, regular board meeting. Also elected was trustee Charlie Weis. Weis was not present at the April 13 board meeting and his swearing in will be at a later date. The election of trustee Jeff Roberts to the position of village president will leave a vacancy on the village board. - Photos by Sherill Summer
tive Justice program. The village has benefited from numerous community service hours in the past. The community service program is one of many services offered through Restorative Justice.
have been set. The dump will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the last Saturday of April, April 30, and the first three Saturdays of May, which are May 7, May 14 and May 21.
he had to watch his speed because “the cops here will nail you for going two miles over (the speed limit).” “Then he informed me he was driving with an open container ... I made sure I had my seat belt on,” Larson said. After seven or eight miles the driver had to turn off and Larson was back to walking along the road. “Now it’s getting darker and colder maybe the upper 30s - and I put on a reflective sweatshirt for better visibility for my safety,” Larson said, noting the highway is similar to CTH W or Hwy. 65 locally. Little if any shoulders, and he can feel the breeze from the 100 or so cars that are passing him by. “That’s when I figured it was time again to talk to the good Lord and say ‘Don’t forget about me down here.’” Almost immediately after that, Larson noted, a New Jersey State Patrol car pulled up and the officer asked him questions. “He couldn’t fathom that I had hitchhiked all the way from Wisconsin,” Larson said. “He was concerned about whether I had weapons and made me sit in the back seat - glass separating us - but even though he was out of his area he decided to give me a ride to get me closer to my destination.” Larson said it was quite a ride. “We were going up to 95 miles an hour - anytime he came up behind a car he’d just turn on his lights and go around him.” They made the town of Newton - population 8,100 - in good time.
find a small number of customers. “I asked this gentleman, who was about to leave, how far it was to Sussex,” Larson said. “We visited for a while - he was just passing through - and then he offered to give me a ride to Sussex.” It turned out the gentleman lived just three blocks from Larson’s destination. “It’s proof how God can work,” Larson said. “And how he supplies our needs.”
Brush dump hours The 2011 spring brush dump hours
The McDonald’s connection Now it was 9:30 or so at night and Larson was still 15 or so miles from his destination - and hungry. The officer asked where he wanted to go - Pizza Hut? McDonald’s? Larson chose the latter, thanked the officer and walked into McDonald’s to
One more test The man gave Larson a tour of the town that evening and drove him around to different motels to show him the options. He walked to his destination from the motel the next morning, completed the transaction, filled the gas tank and hit the road back home in his new truck. “About 25 miles down the road I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a cloud of smoke coming behind me - I pulled over right away. The transmission line had burst.” As he waited for the seller to come with a tow truck, Larson said he pulled out a Bible promise book he carried with him and it fell open to the page that said “In times of trouble...” “They were very good verses that calmed me down,” he said. The seller took care of the costs of the tow truck and fixing the transmission line and - within an hour - Larson was back on the road - a nonstop journey marked by a few roadside naps - that brought him back home - safe and sound. “Everything fell into place - and I thank the Lord for that,” Larson said, adding that he has no reservations about his faith but next time he might choose a different way to put it to the test. “Would I do this again?” he asks. “I’m not sure ...”