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I hope you had a chance to take in some or all of North Branch's annual Winter Fest. Saturday was pretty miserable weather-wise, but Sunday it was spectacular and really made for a great day to take in a celebration. Congratulations to the North Branch Chamber of Commerce and all of the dedicated individuals who gave up their free time to make the event special. Once again, it is all of these celebrations and events that make our area so very special.

On Monday, the Chisago Lakes Primary School had a water main break. Forced to act quickly, the decision was made to bus the children to the Senior High School in Lindstrom. Parents were then notified by their children's teachers and had the option to come and pick them up. I decided to pick my son up since I work so close to the school. I expected to see total and utter chaos with that many children all in one area. I couldn't be more wrong. There were check-ins that directed the parents in the right direction, there were escorts that brought you to your child's teacher and then the teacher would verify the parent and release the child. Everything was structured, detail oriented and flowed very smoothly. Thank you to Superintendent Mike McLoughlin and to all the staff from the Primary School for making what could have been a horrible situation into a smooth operation.

Yesterday, I was told of a reader that was disgusted with the County Press for running last week's article on split pairs. I could not disagree anymore with that reader. The sole purpose for the article was to get information out to the public. Unfortunately these days, our lives have become so busy and our freetime has seemingly receded to nothing, a lot of us (myself included) rely on what we hear from other people. It reminds me of the listening exercises we did in elementary school. The teacher would tell you a short story in your ear and then ask you to turn and tell it to the person next to you. By the time it got to the last person the story would not even come close to resembling the initial story.

Our job at the Press is to get the information out to the public, who in turn then are allowed to make their own judgement on whatever the subject. It was asked why we didn't run a counter article about leaving Highway 8 as it stands today. The answer is, what kind of an article would that be? How do you write an article about something that is already existing? It would be about 40 words. Again, the Press is neither promoting or vilifying the split-pair plan, but rather allowing the City of Lindstrom to simply educate people on the plan. If you don't like it, great. If you do like it, great. Whatever your opinion, at least you have the facts. And if you want to voice your opinion, you are always welcome to write a letter to the editor that will be published in the Press.

The Chisago County Press is still looking for a reporter to cover Taylors Falls City Council meetings. We also have an opening for a Lent Township reporter. These two beats could be combined if someone wanted to. It is a great opportunity to earn some money and learn about your local government. You can call Denise or Matt at 651-257-5115 for more details.

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