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Our View
Please be generous in season of giving ‘Tis the season to be jolly. And generous. It’s disappointing to learn the local, St. Cloud-based Salvation Army is behind by about $30,000 on its red-kettle donations this season. The agency hopes to raise between $225,000 and $230,000. Last year the bellringers raised an impressive $219,000. Those funds are vital for operating many services at the Salvation Army. As Jim Muellenbach, community-development director for the Salvation Army, stated in a news story in the Sartell and St. Joseph Newsleaders last week, “We’re not just a holiday organization; we’re open 12 months a year.” Many people do not know that. Or forget that. They assume the Salvation Army is just a seasonal service to help feed needy people or to get toys to needy families. And the agency, indeed, does a great job in those important tasks. But, as Muellenbach pointed out, there are so many other tremendous services the agency offers. There is the 69-bed shelter in East St. Cloud that provides critical emergency shelter for people down on their luck, including quite a few families with children – some on a waiting list. The agency distributes annually more than 5,000 warm coats, hats and mittens, which is a crucial need in this region’s cold weather. The Salvation Army’s Food Shelf distributes, year-round, 240 tons of food to people who are hurting. It provides school supplies, including backpacks, to children whose parents are hardstrapped for money or who are completely broke. And, of course, in keeping with the season, there is the Toy Store program in which parents or guardians can choose toys for their children at a central location. Muellenbach said his job at the Salvation Army is by far the most rewarding job he’s ever had. That’s because not a day goes by but what he doesn’t see directly the result of people’s generosity and the agency’s services. And that heartwarming result is people getting back on their feet with a renewed spirit of hope and determination. Success stories abound, Muellenbach noted. It’s amazing what a “hand up” (as opposed to a “hand out”) can do to change the course of people’s lives. That ancient adage, “There but for fortune go you and I,” is so true. Muellenbach sees the truth of it every day when he meets people who were doing just fine just weeks before but who, through some calamity or combination of calamities, bring them to seek help at the Salvation Army. Such calamities include loss of a job, divorce or death, medical problems, mental problems or other forms of just plain rotten bad luck. It’s good to remember those people during this season of giving. Please be generous to the Salvation Army and to other charities.
Fairness and ethics
Newsleader staff members have the responsibility to report news fairly and accurately and are accountable to the public. Readers who feel we’ve fallen short of these standards are urged to call the Newsleader office at 363-7741. If matters cannot be resolved locally, readers are encouraged to take complaints to the Minnesota News Council, an independent agency designed to improve relationships between the public and the media and resolve conflicts. The council office may be reached at 612-341-9357.
Friday, Dec. 20, 2013
Opinion What’s sadder than a kid without a toy? Every Christmas season the twins Ken and Sandra cross my mind. They were two of the students in my third-grade class at Washington Elementary School in south St. Cloud way back in the 1950s. Christmas was always an exciting time in grade school. Our little heads were filled with happy thoughts of the toys “Santa” would be bringing us on Christmas Eve and the equally happy thought of getting days off from school, a chance to stay home and play endlessly with our new toys. Our school was always decorated top to bottom with Christmas images – its hallway walls lined with our color-crayon drawings, the huge tree in the vestibule sparkling with ornaments and the colored-paper chain garlands we students made, the gymnasium filled with the joyous singing at the Christmas concert. I can still remember, in third-grade, enjoying the concert, then walking in single file like ducklings down the highly-waxed green-tiled hallway back to our classroom. There, the teacher had arranged all the desks in a circle. It was gift-giving time. A week earlier we had plucked names out of a hat, and each student would then get a present from a mystery giver. Eagerly, we took our seats in our circle. The teacher distributed the colorfully wrapped gifts to the recipients. Then, bristling with excitement, each of us opened our presents, one at a time.
Dennis Dalman Editor My gift, I quickly noticed, looked somehow shabby sad. It was wrapped clumsily with what looked like oldand-faded birthday paper, the creases from some previous box still visible on it. I could tell instantly, from its shape and feel, it was some kind of coloring book. The gift said, “To Dennis from Ken.” I looked over at Ken and smiled and waved. He smiled back blushing, bashful, like he always did. Ken and Sandra, sad to say, were practically aliens in our classroom. They lived right across the street, their ramshackle gloomy old house on 8th Street, visible right through our big row of classroom windows. Those twins were so obviously living in poverty. They came to school looking vaguely unwashed, with tousled hair, always wearing hand-me-downs – Ken with worn corduroy pants way too big for him, Sandra with dresses that looked like they’d been handmade from faded flowery sheets. I felt so sorry for them because they always looked so nervous, as if they were ready to cry any minute. I would go out of my way to try to be nice to them. But they were so shy, it was hard to get through their skittish
reserve. “Dennis, it’s your turn,” Mrs. Dripp, the teacher, said. At that, I quickly opened the present. Sure enough, it was a connectthe-dots book. But, like the wrapping, it looked worn, used. I riffled through the pages and instantly saw the dull-gray smudge marks of erasures. Oh no! Poor Kenny or his parents couldn’t afford to buy a present, so he gave me his own connect-thedots book, having worked so hard to erase all the pencil lines. I looked across at Ken, who was looking so scared and so embarrassed, his head down. “Hey, Kenny!” I said. “Gee, thanks. This is just what I wanted.” I could see his visible relief. He smiled bashfully, blushing. “You’re welcome,” he said. Sandra was also looking over at the gift. She, too, seemed to brighten and smile. They say it’s not the gift that counts; it’s the thought. Well, that’s how I felt about Ken’s gift. He must have been up half the night, erasing, erasing, erasing those pencil lines. Every Christmas season, I remember Ken and his connect-the-dots gift. They remind me of how many children in poor families don’t have merry Christmases. Some don’t even get a single gift. And what is sadder than a kid without a toy on Christmas Day?
Jury selection can be nerve-wracking experience Jury duty can be a nerve-wracking experience. Before I took the bench, I was called to serve as a juror multiple times, and even though I was very familiar with the process and what would be expected of me, I was a little nervous each time. This is what you can expect as a juror when you first enter the courtroom. The judge reads a few introductory remarks and tells you a bit about the case. The panel then stands together and takes an oath: Do you swear you will truthfully answer all questions about your qualifications to serve as a juror, so help you God? Next, the clerk calls the names of those who are to be seated in the jury box with the initial panel. The judge and the lawyers then begin their questioning to select a jury. It was the process of jury selection I found intimidating as a juror, and I think that is true for many people who are called for jury duty. We don’t take this oath in our day-to-day lives. Neither are we generally expected to reveal personal information in a room full of people. The oath sets a tone of solemnity in the courtroom, and it holds us accountable for what we are about to say. In jury selection, we don’t make ordinary small talk about yesterday’s Vikings game or what happened on Dancing with the Stars. Potential jurors are asked probing questions about their lives. I found this process daunting as a juror. What would be asked of me? What would I have to reveal about myself? What if I had to say something embarrassing? What if I forgot to mention something important? It helps to know a bit about what to expect and to know why our justice system allows such vigorous analysis of our jurors.
From the Bench
Sarah Hennesy District Court Judge In my courtroom, I begin by asking jurors general questions. Most are fairly innocuous and easy to answer, such as “Do you know the parties or their lawyers? Have you heard of the case? Have you served on a jury before?” Some questions get personal: “Have you been the victim of a crime? Have you or a close relative been convicted of a crime?” When I am done asking questions, the lawyers take their turns. They might ask if a juror has a problem with police officers or whether a juror is biased against someone because of his or her race. Jurors may then be excused from the panel based on their answers to certain questions. I watch jurors struggle with these questions week after week. For some people, it can be very difficult — even painful — to answer these questions. It takes courage and self-awareness to answer openly and honestly. Why do we allow such personal questions? It’s because parties are entitled to have their cases decided by jurors who can reach a verdict based on the evidence they hear in court and not based on any preconceived ideas about the parties or the case. Let’s say you are the defendant in a civil case. You own a small business, and one of your female employees is suing you for sexual harassment. Do you think a woman who has been sexually harassed by her supervisor would be a
good juror in your case? Wouldn’t you want to know of her experience and have the chance to question her to see if she might be prejudging you based on her experience? The justice system relies on jurors who make decisions based on the facts before them, not on preconceived ideas about people. Rest assured, you are not expected to come into court without any prejudices. It is understood we all have preconceived ideas based on our experiences. If you have a personal opinion that might affect your decision about a verdict, there is no shame in letting the judge and lawyers know. It is, in fact, your civic duty to do so. The judge and attorneys are responsible for conducting jury selection and asking questions to make sure the parties end up with a jury that will make a decision based on the merits of the case. The questions you answer help them decide whether the case before the court is the kind of a case in which you can set aside personal opinions that might affect your verdict and make your decision based on the evidence you see and hear. You might be a good choice to serve as a juror for one type of case but not for another. The juror who has suffered sexual harassment at work may not be a good fit for a sexual harassment case but may be a good selection for another type of case. Keep in mind that being excused or “struck” from a jury does not mean you have said or done anything wrong. If it’s any consolation, I have been struck from the panel every time. Sarah E. Hennessy is a district-court judge based in the Mille Lacs County Courthouse in Milaca.