<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0H3dg5_0vkg4v8q00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0H3dg5_0vkg4v8q00" width="1066" height="895" ></figure>We welcome letters to the Editor, a chance for members of the community to comment on issues of concern to them. All letters must be original, not duplications of letters addressed to public officials or written by others. The views and opinions expressed are those of the letter writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication, its publishers, Editor, or staff.It’s interesting to live in a rural Wisconsin county that’s modestly poor, at least by affluent, middle-class standards, and to contemplate the apparent indifference of citizens—at least a large percentage of citizens—who passively watch a rightwing county board kill a vehicle registration fee that provided over $500,000 per year to an underfunded Highway Department, kill University Extension, and then decide to sell the county-owned five-star nursing home.This rightwing county board, proclaiming financial and political expertise, tried (and at first failed) to sell the nursing home—with no appraisal of the nursing home’s worth—at a fire sale price that roughly matched the remaining debt on two recent additions. To sweeten the deal, they threw in the Social Services building with a 10-year rentback clause that essentially gave the building away for free.These community wreckers call themselves conservative. I thought (correct me if I’m wrong) that conservative was in the same nest of meaning with conservation and conserve. Taking care of the old, infirm, and incapacitated is a community responsibility. It’s a fundamental democratic obligation. It’s how we uphold our self-respect. That’s how, at least in part, we conserve our moral, ethical, and spiritual dignity. Honoring that collective responsibility is at the heart of what it means to be conservative. But how does wrecking a place get to be called “conservative”? Is that what “conservative” means to you?– Paul GilkMerrill, Wis.The cost for Paid Letters to the Editor is $40.00 per letter of up to 250 words, plus $10.00 per additional 50 words, and must be prepaid prior to printing.</div></body>

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We welcome letters to the Editor, a chance for members of the community to comment on issues of concern to them. All letters must be original, not duplications of letters addressed to public officials or written by others. The views and opinions expressed are those of the letter writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication, its publishers, Editor, or staff.