The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Editorials

May 4, 2007

Our View -- Shooting dogs is cowardly

Thumbs down

To the person or people who apparently want to take matters into their own hands by cleaning up the neighborhood of wandering dogs.

At least two dogs have been shot during the last few months and another is missing in South Bend Township. Residents suspect someone has decided to take the law into their own hands rather than reporting their complaints about the dogs to the proper authorities.

If that’s the case, it’s a cowardly way of fixing a problem.

No one is disputing that dogs not properly tied up or kept in a kennel can be a real nuisance. Responsible dog owners do not let their dogs run free when the law saws they can’t. But obviously shooting dogs to stop them is cruel, inhumane and illegal.

Whoever is aware of the suspect or suspects in this case should contact law enforcment authorities so the matter can be dealt with before more animals are shot, or worse yet, people are hurt.

Thumbs up

To those who organized the project at Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial High School that returned old memories to past graduates of the schools that now make up LCWM.

The bright idea was to present some historic memorabilia in the display cases near the new school’s main entrance. Banners and colors representing the old teams — the Wildcats, the Lakers, the Raiders and the Gardeners — were draped above the main doors.

As students, parents and other members of the communities that once stood on their own but now share in the LCWM educational experience saw the memorabilia, they were reminded that out of that old cloth is fashioned the new.

Hard feelings still remain from school closings and consolidations that have brought about small-town changes not always welcomed, but the old souvenirs were a smart reminder that the past, if gone, is not forgotten. And now, it’s time to unite with new memories in a new building.

Thumbs up

To Alltel for committing to upgrade and expand the call service center at the Midwest Wireless office in Mankato.

When Alltel purchased the highly successful, home-grown Midwest Wireless last year, there were understandably concerns about job cuts. Alltel earlier announced that about 150 of the 600 total jobs would be cut by this fall — a smaller cut than many had feared.

This week, Alltel announced it has chosen Mankato to be a technical call-in service center where customers can get help for their data services, such as text messaging and Web features.

The move means the 130 call center employees at Midwest Wireless will be trained for the new function and Alltel will begin hiring additional employees in late July. They say the call center could have from 300 to 500 employees in the future.

The jobs bring decent pay — a base salary of $27,000 to start, plus commissions. Employees slated for layoff can apply for any new jobs.

It’s great news for employees and for the region.

Thumbs up

To Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Bush administration for their willingness to meet with leaders of Syria, a country Democrats and Republicans say we need to meet with to bring diplomatic solutions to Iraq.

For months, the Bush administration has resisted direct high-level talks with Syria, listening to hard-line advisers who said the country harbored terrorists. But many believe Saudi Arabia, a strong U.S. ally, has unwittingly or not, had the same problem.

The bipartisan Iraq Study Group, former Secretary of State James Baker III and U.S. elected officials from both parties have long argued for opening up talks with Syria. A CIA intelligence briefing on Iraq issued this spring also argued for more diplomatic relations with moderate officials in the government of Syria and Iran.

Let’s hope this sea change of diplomacy will shorten the time for U.S. troops in Iraq.

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