Letters to the Editor: A library’s worth

Public libraries provide immeasurable benefits to their communities and are therefore a worthy investment for Alta. They not only enhance children’s reading skills, social skills and literacy development, but they also provide free community resources and decrease social isolation among adults.

Several studies have even found that libraries positively impact the long-term physical and civic health of communities. Lindsey Peterson, daughter of Brent and Lorinda Peterson and a 2010 graduate from Alta, recalls the important role the Alta Public Library played in her life: “I credit who I am today, in part, to the Alta Library. I read voraciously as a child. In The Red Fern Grows, I mourned the loss of coonhounds Old Dan and Little Ann in the Depression-era Ozark Mountains. In Nazi-occupied Copenhagen, I aided the Rosens’ escape to Sweden in Number the Stars. At Manor Farm, I mapped the farmyard animals to their real-life inspirations to learn about global political philosophies.

These books and many more inspired many of us Alta kids to explore more about the world around us. They helped us develop friendships with one another and prepared us for our future studies and careers.” We should continue to support the Alta library so that it can continue to open the minds and imaginations of our community for generations to come.

Lindsey R. Peterson, Ph.D., Digital Humanities Librarian, Assistant Professor of Practice, University of South Dakota

There are still Good Samaritans in Storm Lake

My name is Bob Payer and my wife and I live at 614 E. Lakeshore Dr. in Storm Lake. About two weeks ago, on a Sunday night, I put my trash and recyclables out on the south curb, for Monday pickup. The trash was lighter and it went well. The recyclables were heavier and that didn’t go well at all.

I’m 80 years old. I tend to lose my balance on sloping areas, and the north end of our driveway slopes to the street. I got about half way down, BOOM, down I went. The container with recyclables ended up in the street, parallel to the gutter.

I suffered three wounds. I scraped my right knee. My wrist watch on my left arm lost a pin, came apart, and the sharp, pointed end of the wrist band gouged a 2” gash in the blood thinner bruise on my left forearm. Third, and worst, I landed on my left elbow. 

I am not telling this story for your sympathy, but because of what happened next. A young couple, man and woman, driving by, saw me lying on my drive way. They pulled off East Lakeshore, into my neighbor’s drive, so their car didn’t block traffic on the street. They came over and asked if I needed any help.

I was struggling to get to my knees, so I asked the young man for a hand to get to my feet. This was a 20 “something” young man helping an 80 “plus year old“ to stand up, but we got it done.

Did I mention that I’m 80 plus? This all occurred in about 15 minutes, and, in my still being in a state shock, I didn’t get the names of the two people, who in my humble opinion, were the classic example of Good Samaritans, and I did not say “Thank you!” Please let this story be my way of saying: “THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!”

Also tell your parents, that based on my short experience with you, I also “thank them for raising you very well!”

Bob Payer, Storm Lake

Thank you, Joan!

Few of the problems we face could be as simply and fairly solved as the inevitable insolvency of Social Security under the current payroll tax cap. Remove the “wage base limit” and the looming crisis disappears. This should be a front-burner campaign issue for rank and file working stiffs.

Instead, as Zwagerman noted, relatively few seem to know or care about it. Rather than shoring up the trust fund the Trumpicans are playing politics with it. I remember the first time I reached the earnings cap during my working years. I think it was $60-some thousand per year in those days. I didn’t know there was one and, while I appreciated the increased bottom line on my paycheck, I also recall thinking it didn’t make sense that the more I could afford the SS deduction, the less I was subject to it. 

It was baffling at the time. Now it’s infuriating. Not to mention the insecurity I feel every month nowadays in the wake of Elon’s DOGE raids.

Mike Wellman, Des Moines

Open to dictator?

Too lazy to do the work of democracy? Considering the way our legislative branch is functioning (not), maybe we are. For effective democracy, citizens (and their representatives) need to be able to LISTEN. When people get tired of the hard work of negotiating, it’s tempting to let a “problem solver” do their work. But do you realize what you may be giving up? Sometimes, I fear it may be too late.

I wonder if in our educational processes, we’ve neglected to teach the skills of negotiating. It requires the respectful consideration of the points of view of others. You know, sometimes the thoughts of others may deserve a hearing.  

Rev. Norm Porath, Denton, Neb.