Letters to the Editor 3-30-22
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To the Editor:
The Bridge to Hope – A Twelve Year Retrospective
When I landed here in 2009, our agency looked very different than it does today. We were still a secret location, without signage, and in a very old and dilapidated house. A local law enforcement official confided that many of his staff members considered us to be man-hater’s. The number of hot-line calls we got annually were about 300; they are now over 2,000. We have evolved and grown in so many ways over the years.
In 2009 our website looked like someone had typed it on an old manual typewriter. We eventually caught up with technology. In 2011 we started our Facebook page, and were one of the first domestic abuse agencies to add a text hot-line. We all beamed in pride in 2012 when we were awarded the Non-Profit of the Year award by the Menomonie Chamber of Commerce. And we couldn’t believe our luck when the Green Bay Packers chose us in 2015 to be the recipients of a Packer Tailgate Party. That same year a very generous family gifted us $200,000 to lay the foundation for a capital campaign which resulted in the purchase of our much-expanded facility on 4th Avenue that tripled our size and that truly offered victims space for healing.
While we have provided services to domestic abuse victims since the beginning, there has been a growing realization that we needed to expand the scope of our victim services. In 2013 we started a support group for male victims. Our newsletters started to include articles about animal abuse and its link to domestic abuse. We began to raise awareness that folks that identified as LGBTQ+ were victimized at higher rates, and that our services needed to be open and welcoming to them as well. Our services to sexual assault victims expanded, and we were able to provide an advocate on campus at UW-Stout. Human trafficking victims also sought our services and we worked to educate our community about the myths and realities of trafficking.
Throughout all of this, I have continually stood in awe of my co-workers who have unselfishly, (and sometimes bravely) stepped up to serve victims. They have undoubtedly saved lives as they safety planned with victims after they had been assaulted. They have collaborated with local law enforcement to provide wrap-around services to the highest risk victims. They took crisis calls at 2:00 a.m. and breathed calmly with victims who were heading into full-blown panic attacks. I’ve watched them soothing scared kids, sing to brand new babies, and order abusive partners to get out of our parking lot. They are amazing, strong, and committed, and it’s been an honor to work with them.
As I wrap up my long tenure as Executive Director of The Bridge to Hope, I look back over the past twelve years with gratitude. I will always be grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to serve victims and survivors, to work with amazing people who are committed to justice and equity, and that I’ve been able to witness how we have transformed lives and planted seeds of hope…together.
Naomi Cummings,
Executive Director
To the Editor:
The third forensic report analyzing Mesa County’s (Colorado) electronic voting systems exposed evidence of manipulation of vote counts, two additional unauthorized (illegal) databased, unauthorized software installation, etc. Multiple databases in the voting system showed ballot and ballot batch records were moved and changed amongst the three authorized database and the other two unauthorized ones which breaks the chain of evidence for the ballot and vote authentication – proving non-compliance with Federal Voting System Standards. This makes it impossible to authenticate the vote count; in effect voiding the legal certification of Mesa County’s election. Evidence was found in two different elections and proves that it would have been impossible for this manipulation to have been an accident.
Franks Speech explains it this way: “The first forensic report analyzing the Mesa County electronic voting systems showed that at least 29,000 election records had been deleted at the direction of Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. The second Mesa forensic report exposed numerous system vulnerabilities including firewall and security rules that would allow any computer in the world to connect to the voting system server, and 36 separate wireless networking devices in the voting system.
There are no listed, authorized features and procedures, or even the ability through a combination of features and procedures on the electronic voting systems to instruct or enable election officials to manipulate ballot records and vote count databases in the manner discovered. This activity was unauthorized, and could have been conducted in any number of ways, including combinations of unauthorized software, remote access and/or malware introduced through a removable device (USB drive).”
Griswold introduced bill SB22-153 in an attempt to cover up this evidence and block investigation attempts. She also sued Elbert County Clerk and Recorder in an attempt to seize hard drives containing Elbert election record backups.
The public in Mesa County are demanding state and federal law enforcement to investigate.
JoAnn Utphall
Boyceville
Dear Reader,
This letter is in response to Steve Rasmussen’s Letter to the Editor dated March 23, 2022.
There is a growing sense of unease at the direction our county is moving. Large debt for a community of this size is untenable and inexcusable. There have been comments made that this debt will be reduced by COVID monies coming from the Federal Government. In no way will this solution fix the original problem of overspending and lack of responsibility. In addition, these Federal Funds often, if not always, come with strings attached that the citizens of Dunn County may not wish to be beholden to. Do you know what we are giving up in order to receive these funds? I do not.
As for hot button issues, those issues merely caused many of our Dunn County Residents to take a closer look at our local government and the amount of power they wield and/or abdicate to non-elected entities. We started looking at budgets, at committees, at policies, at many things, and thought that rather than complain about these issues, we should take action and do something to affect positive change.
I have a serious problem with the chair of the Health and Human Services Committee playing a critical role in the Emergency Order(S) being implemented in our county; and also donating money to the legal fees of a family that sued our school board for not masking all children at the beginning of the last school year. This, in my mind, is a conflict of interest at best.
There are many supervisors on the board that have served several terms, and in my opinion, have served our county well. The truth of the matter is that we need some fresh perspective on the board. It never hurts to refresh and revise our government from time to time. New members will have much to learn, just as the incumbents and outgoing members did when they first began. Let’s support them and bring a fresh breath of air into Dunn County.
Carol Breslin
Dunn County Resident
To the Editor:
Last week’s Tribune carried a response from Diane Nelson to my recent letter regarding the GC School Board election. I believe that Ms. Nelson felt that I was being critical of the GC school system. Nothing could be further from the truth! My daughters graduated in 1988 and 1989 from GCHS. I have always been thankful that they were educated in GC rather than a metro area school.
Ms. Nelson stated that critical race theory and gender identity/equity are not taught in the GC School system. I have seen no reason to doubt that. However, it is incumbent upon parents and residents of the GC School District to insure that their voices are heard and respected in the future as these concepts are now commonplace in many schools, colleges, the corporate world, and even our military as companies and politicians cave to the demands of organizations such as Antifa, BLM, and the LBGTQ proponents.
Today, we have schools in Chicago removing gender designations from bathrooms. We have a swimmer at an Ivy League university (Penn State) who, as a male, was a mediocre member of the men’s swim team for three years. He then went through a year of testosterone suppression therapy and this season competed as a female, dominating and destroying the sport for women. THIS WAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH NCAA POLICY!
At this time, there is a battle going on in the Eau Claire schools as the school board has adopted a policy that tells parents that they must “earn the right to know their children’s sexual identity.” Guidance states that “Some transgender, non-binary and/or gender-nonconforming students are not ‘open’ at home for reasons ………. Remember, parents are not entitled to know their kids’ identities. That knowledge must be earned.”
The teacher’s union in Minneapolis is about to go into their 3rd week of a strike. Does anyone believe that these teachers “really care” about students.
Many will say “This will never happen here.” In our current political climate, IT IS NOT A MATTER OF IF THIS WILL HAPPEN HERE, IT IS A MATTER OF WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN HERE.
It may very well not be due to any action that that our board or administration takes. Example: A 6 ft 185 pound sophomore decides “he” is really a “she” and “she” wishes to play on the girls basketball team (whether GC or another school). The parents back their “daughter” and threaten to sue. Will our school board members stand up for the rights of our girls, or will they cave in to the threat and let your 5 ft 4 in 115 pound daughter compete against that male in a contact sport?
As I said, it is not a matter of “IF” but a matter of “WHEN.” All I am asking of the school board candidates is, WHEN THIS HAPPENS HERE, WILL YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO STAND UP FOR THE RIGHTS OF OUR STUDENTS AND PARENTS AND THE VALUES OF OUR COMMUNITY?
Larry Nielsen
Glenwood City