A barb to all the schools during their sport events >for not repeating the national anthem or the singing of their school song. It makes me upset that they do not know these two items. The cheerleaders should know the words and be the leader, or ask a chorus student to lead the crowd. - Upset sports mother>
A blossom to Jeff Ditzenberger's "Local View" >in the Sept.14 paper. Jeff wrote a great perspective that makes us realize that we probably wouldn't want to live anywhere else. There are so many things that we do take for granted. If we may, I would like to add - We had friends from several states, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois visit us a few weeks ago. Each day we had a motorcycle trip planned and we covered a 150-mile radius of Monticello. All of the visitors commented that this is some of the prettiest country they have ever seen. - Tom and Ann Saunders >
A barb to the Green County Board.> If Pleasant View is closed, where do they think that the people that cannot afford a regular nursing home are going to go? I think that they have been wasting a lot of money on things. What about the people they are paying as consultants? I feel they have not accomplished much of anything. I hope that the people will get out and vote on Oct. 6, to keep it open as it is, to keep jobs for the people in this area. Because if they sell it, the jobs might go to people from out of this area. So people, think hard and get out and vote to keep Pleasant View going. - Carol>
As the winner of basket No. 4, I would like to send a bouquet of blossoms to the following businesses> for donating to the Truck in "Downtown" contest: Family Chiropractic Clinic of Monroe, Monroe Main Street, Uptown Girl, Swiss Colony, Monroe Clinic, Amcore Financial Inc, Duxstad and Bestul Law Firm, Anchor Bank, Schwann's, Monroe Chamber of Commerce, Suisse Haus, Radio Shack and U.S. Cellular. It's nice to see everyone come together and do something fun in this construction zone. It may seem like a maze now, but when it is all done it will look great!! Remember, it takes time. It can't be done overnight. Downtown is still open! Come look for the truck! - Susan Grindey>
A huge blossom to the entire "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" crews and The Hasken Construction Family> for the chance to expose so many people to be a part in the build of the new home for the Stott Family. You were so organized with this huge project, it was an amazing and enriching experience. There was so much love and excitement in the air among those volunteering, whether it was during the day or in the middle of the night as the moon came up to give us an extra smile. A special thanks to the friends of Joey for nominating them, as we all got to benefit by being part of this amazingly awesome heartwarming experience! To the Stott family, God bless you all, you have a very beautiful property and the "yellow" is such a fun and happy color! Enjoy! Keep smiling! Thank you, ABC! Can't wait to see the show! - Diane R. Krebs>
I'd like to offer my sincere thanks and blossoms to Dawn Meier at Portraits by Dawn. >She offered her services free of charge to take the promotional pictures for the United Way campaign literature. She then went on to take the photos of employee groups from Swiss Colony, Monroe Clinic and other companies for the United Way billboards you will see all over Green County this fall. She never fails to help and support the organization with her time and considerable talent. Dawn really knows how to Live United! - Deb Weis, United Way Board of Directors>
A huge blossom to the kind nurses and doctors >during our E.R. visit last Friday for Vaughn's broken arm. She is in love with the toys you gave her, they made her day! Another blossom to Dr. Sathoff, Dr. Sugar, Jackie and the rest of the staff at the clinic for making our visits comfortable and easy. Thank you so much for all you've done. - Vaughn's mommy>
A blossom to all the area's first responders. >With the eighth anniversary of 9/11 last week, I'd like extend a thank you to you all. Let's remember that these brave people run into the fire to save lives. Think about that for a second, they run into the fire!
A barb to the thumping music >that can be heard from blocks away from cars and trucks. How hard is it to give some citations to these folks? Hear loud music, give ticket. I don't want to hear this garbage that you need a precise distance to give a ticket. If you can hear this thumping crap for blocks away, then get them. If you can master the art of handing out speeding tickets, then by all means you should be able to handle this, unless you choose not to. The city has an ordinance on the books for this and, simply put, people are sick and tired of listening to this.
A barb to fact >that consideration for your neighbors is now the exception instead of the rule.
A blossom to all the coaches. >I ran into a friend of mine who happens to coach a local football team and he was buying, of all things, candy for the homecoming parade. It got me thinking that coaching is a thankless job that requires a lot of time and dedication, from the YMCA leagues to the high schools ranks. They teach our young teamwork, sportsmanship, discipline and leadership skills they will need and use in the future. - Rob McCarthy>
