Page 4 | July 2, 2011
www.plamerican.com | Prior Lake American
opinion Contributions welcome to editor@plamerican.com, (952) 345-6378
Dog First Aid kits are a must in the field After 20-plus years EMT gel: To treat of hunting ducks, wounds/abrasions geese, sharptails, Benadryl: For prairie chickens, insect bites huns, ruff grouse, Brush: For bburr spruce grouse and removal pheasants with my Gauze pads/roll dogs, it became gauze: For wounds – obvious very early on do not place roll gauze that I needed to have too tight a canine First Aid kit Rectal with me whenever I thermometer was in the field with Bandage scissors my dogs. Irrigating eye wash COMMUNITY COLUMNIST I have been blessed Betadine: To clean with some excellent wounds dogs over the years, Hydrogen peroxide: but all of them had a few things in To flush wounds or induce vomiting common: A strong desire to hunt, Sterile non-stick pads no fear, enthusiasm, high energy, Cotton swabs: To apply ointment curiosity and strong desire to and clean wounds track, flush and retrieve every bird Adhesive tape: To secure possible. bandages These traits all have led to many Kaopectate tablets: To ease successes in the field together, but diarrhea they also have resulted in a few Hydrocortisone cream 1 percent potentially serious health issues. Latex gloves: To remove quills or Barbed wire, cacti, skunks, other to double as a temporary muzzle on aggressive dogs and porcupines dog have all ended some of our hunts Large rubber band: Tourniquet prematurely. One of my good friends for paw or leg and hunting partners is a long-time I can tell you firsthand the skunk small animal veterinarian and has odor neutralizer items have saved assisted me in putting together a more than one hunting trip for me. field First Aid kit that has helped Where do you go with a skunked save the day more than once. Our dog when you are staying in a motel dogs give us everything they have and you are hundreds of miles every time we turn them loose in from home in the evening? The first the field. The least we can do is be time I came home with a skunked prepared to administer some basic dog, my wife would not let either canine First Aid in the field. of us in the house. Do you want Hemostats can be used to remove your vehicle to smell like skunk? If porcupine quills. You must be very you have the items in your kit, you careful to be sure you have removed can neutralize the odor in about 15 the entire quill. If you break the minutes. quill off in the dog, the quill will Once you have put your kit work its way deeper into the dog together, take it to your vet and every time the dog moves the tissue ask his opinion. He or she may be around the wound. The barb on the able to assist you with each item’s quill will prevent movement out and function, application or have input only allow the quill to go deeper. as to additional items needed. Dogs die every year from porcupine Remember, accidents happen at quills. home, too. Your kit may be of value Once on a trip to North Dakota, a providing treatment at home in setter was quilled and my vet friend addition to hunting trips. If your removed every quill he could in dog goes on vacation with you, the the field. We took the dog into a vet kit can provide First Aid on the the next morning, shaved the area road. around the wound, and found more You may decide not to take quills we were unable to remove in everything listed with you, but at the field. When in doubt, use your least it’s a good starting point. If field First Aid kit to stabilize your you’re a serious bird hunter, sooner dog and then take him or her to the or later you will be in a situation closest vet. Many commercially where you will be happy you took prepared First Aid kits are out the time to organize a canine First there, but you can also put one Aid kit, familiarized yourself with together on your own. it and when the time comes, can If your dog has consumed administer aid to your best friend in something that could be poisonous, the field. you can induce vomiting with small On another note, make sure amount of hydrogen peroxide. both you and your dog are in good All of us know of a dog that died shape before the season begins so from eating something poisonous. that neither of you have to go to A package of chocolate candy or your respective doctors due to poor rat poison from your neighbor’s conditioning. Now is the time to garage could cost your dog its life. begin putting your canine First Aid Just put an ounce of hydrogen kit together so you are locked and peroxide down your dog’s throat and loaded for the fall hunting season. everything will come up and out in Rick Petrekovic is a 21-year short order. resident of Prior Lake. He and his Listed below are some basic items wife, Barb, live with two labs – Zach you should consider having in your and Bella – and two cats – Callie own kit: and Romeo. Petrekovic has 30 years Skin stapler: For closing clean/ of experience in sales management simple wounds with consumer products companies Hemostat: To clamp a wound or such as M.A. Gedney, Nestle Foods removing cacti, quills and thorns and Cadbury Schweppes. He is an Nail trimmers: To trim broken active conservationist with National nails Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, Forever, Trout Unlimited and the Dawn soap: Skunk odor neutralizer Rocky Mountain Elk Federation.
Rick
PETREKOVIC
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR CITY OF PRIOR LAKE
Not happy with city decisions Every time I pick up the Prior Lake American, our City Council and the administration is finding a new way to either force people out of their homes or buy property from estates and take them off the city tax rolls. Have you noticed the individual council members never explain why they think this is a good idea and try to sell it to the city residents? In recent times, the small-business building next to the VFW was a target, and as I recall, there was the threat of using contamination to force the owner to sell, which he subsequently did. More recently, the proposed road change would take 34 homes, all presumably to get rid of the four-way stop sign on Main Avenue. Do you think any of our residents care that the people driving through our town are going to be slowed down on their way to and from work? Here’s a novel idea – take a little of the money they are so eager to spend on planning and take a poll of our residents to see if they want this project pursued. Recently, the estate that owns the house adjoining the City Hall property offered to sell the house to the city. Their response was we want to buy it, but don’t know what we will do with it. A friend of mine knows the history of this house, which would affect the price. She seemed less than satisfied with her reception when she met with officials of the city. This past week, the Prior Lake American announced that the “Arcadia project advances,” another one of those projects where they gave authority to start negotiating with homeowners, including using the threat of condemnation (their term “eminent domain”). This is in advance of having a completed plan. It appears the administration plans to keep so many projects going that the citizens give up and as a result they justify their employment. Don’t these people read the paper and watch television and know the taxpayers are hurting, and every poll shows quit spending? The gang of three sure didn’t act this way in December when they raised taxes knowing there was a budget surplus for 2010.
Verda Russo Prior Lake
Prior Lake City Council contacts Mayor Mike Myser Phone: (952) 341-5932 E-mail: mmyser@cityofpriorlake.com Council members Warren Erickson Phone: (952) 440-2171 E-mail: werickson@cityofpriorlake.com Kenneth Hedberg Phone: (612) 382-6143 E-mail: khedberg@cityofpriorlake.com
Richard Keeney Phone: (612) 889-7114 E-mail: rkeeney@cityofpriorlake.com Vanessa Soukup Phone: (612) 385-3686 E-mail: vsoukup@cityofpriorlake.com City manager Frank Boyles Phone: (952) 447-9801 E-mail: fboyles@cityofpriorlake.com
PRIOR LAKE
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AMERICAN
About us: The Prior Lake American, founded in 1960, is published by Southwest Newspapers, a division of Red Wing Publishing Company. We are an active member of the Minnesota Newspaper Association and the official newspaper for the City of Prior Lake and School District 719. Published weekly on Saturdays; periodicals postage paid at Prior Lake, MN. POSTMASTER: Send change of address notice to Prior Lake American, P.O. Box 8, Shakopee, MN 55379. Location: The Prior Lake American is located at 14093 Commerce Ave. in Prior Lake. Its mailing address is Prior Lake American, P.O. Box 538, Prior Lake, MN 55372. For general information call (952) 447-6669; send faxes to (952) 447-6671.
Streets are clean already In mid-April, I started a new job that allowed me to work from home. It’s amazing some of the things you see going on in your neighborhood during the work week days. One item that stands out is the frequency at which the city chooses to clean the streets with their street cleaning machine. Once a week, the machine comes by and at this point, I’m pretty sure my street is clean enough to eat off. I did a little research into the city’s guidelines for how often the streets are to be cleaned and it is
pretty vague. I’ve tried contacting several people at City Hall by e-mail and phone to ask why the streets need to be cleaned every week when the city is looking for areas to save money in their budget. But up to this point, I have gotten no response from anyone. It seems to me that if the city wanted to save some money, it could be done by not cleaning the streets every week. Don’t get me wrong, I like a clean street just as much as anyone, but cleaning them once a week seems quite excessive. Is anyone else feeling the same way and seeing what I’m seeing?
Greg James Prior Lake
STATE SHUTDOWN
No pay for incompetence I respectfully suggest that not only the governor, but all members of the state Legislature, forego pay until they complete their task. Maybe if they had to work for free through the Fourth of July weekend in a non-air-conditioned environment until they were fi nished, the budget would be approved. Why are government employees paid with our tax dollars for incompetence while normal taxpayers are held accountable for their results? Thank God our military does not work by the same standards.
Rick Petrekovic Prior Lake
How long can they hold out? The government shutdown is political posturing of the two-party system. The shutdown will affect Minnesotans. That is wrong! I believe the shutdown is nothing but games by Gov. Dayton and the GOP to see who can hold out from compromise. It will be interesting to how long the two parties can be childish at the expense of Minnesotans.
Josh Ondich Prior Lake
Resolve the deficit now The Republican majority believes they were elected with a mandate to not raise taxes and to cut government spending. That requires that government services be cut. Which ones? Leadership requires that question be answered by those elected to do so and their being transparent and accountable to the voters about which services they favor the government not provide. The governor believes he was elected with a clear message, to resolve the budget deficit with a mix of cuts, efficiencies and increase revenue by taxing the rich. The citizens of Minnesota elected the flag bearers for those two messages. Neither one should claim they have a mandate from Minnesotans.
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They do have a message from Minnesotans – get the job done. The shutdown will adversely affect a vast array of both government services and many private sector employers. The thinking might go something like, “Who will the public blame more? If it’s not me, than by extension, my approach to resolving the budget deficit must be right.” It’s time to stop polling for validation of the last election and realize that the electorate already spoke and provided a mixed message that pragmatically, cannot be interpreted any other way than compromise. That means a mix of cuts and increased taxes to higher incomes. Those were the clear messages from those running for office and elected. That’s been clear since January. It’s time to get the budget resolved. What can you do? The brinksmanship fight being played out with the shutdown harms the people (public and private sectors) who provide services for us and will not stop unless elected officials hear a backlash for their actions. Please, speak out.
Dana Wheeler Prior Lake
PRIOR LAKE HIGH SCHOOL
An ode to graduates With deference to the Beatles and George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” the following lyrical rewrite was sloshing around in my head while I was waiting to read names at the chilly and wet Prior Lake High School graduation: “I look at you all, see your caps that are dripping, While my fi ngers gently freeze. I look at your gowns and I see they need drying; Still my fi ngers gently freeze.” Then, it all swept over me like the cold rain itself; this would be my last official act as a teacher after 31 years in public education. I would lead no more discussions about “Julius Caesar,” “Antigone,” “O Pioneers!” or “Romeo and Juliet.” Analyzing Tim O’Brien’s writing about the Vietnam War while using protest music from the sixties as context would now be a thing of the past. I would teach no more grammar lessons regarding the difference between “who” and “whom.” And, unfortunately, there would be no more opportunities for me to rant to my students about Lindsay Lohan, Lil’ Wayne or any number of American politicians. I will miss it all. An educational adage states that students may not remember what they learned in particular classes, but they will remember how teachers made them feel. A similar truth comes from this teacher’s perspective. I certainly will not be able to recall all my students’ names and their grade years from now, but I will always remember the faces of those who displayed curiosity, confidence and respect in my classroom. Thank you, former students, for my 26 years in Prior Lake. I enjoyed them all. Go Lakers!
Graham Williams Northfield, Minn.
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