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In this Press you will find a full page dedicated to Earth Day. Earth Day is all about taking care of our precious world and with that comes cleaning. The Press has put together some great ads that highlight businesses that specialize in recycling everything from aluminum cans to used books. We have also listed all of the local city and township spring clean-up days which are just around the corner. Make sure to keep this page for future reference and also to remind you of when your city's clean-up date is.

I forgot to mention our Spring Sports Preview last week. If you happened to miss it, we do keep quite a few copies. Just stop in and we will gladly give you a copy or two for your scrapbook. Thanks to Jeff Norton and Chuck Fitzer for all their hard work. Thanks also to the great advertisers who continually show their support for local sports.

This weekend we were out in the yard cleaning up the winter mess. I even pulled out our tiller and did a little tilling. Why am I telling you this mundane information?  Because as I am writing this, they are forecasting two to six inches of snow. I pray this is not one of those years where we go from winter to summer with no spring.

Dale Fredell called last week to tell us that the ice went off the Chisago Chain of Lakes Wednesday, April 13. The average ice out date is April 12. With a harsher winter we experienced this year, it is surprising the ice still came off as usual. Dale tells us the ice off date is determined when the Chain of Lakes could be navigated from South Center Lake to Chisago Lake depending on lake levels. Last year the ice went out on March 30. The earliest ice out was March 24, 2000 and the latest is May 4, 1950. Thank you to Dale Fredell for all of this great information.

By now you should have received your blue renewal card in the mail. We have made it as easy as possible for you to renew your subscription to the Chisago County Press. Just send the card along with your payment in the envelope we have provided you and we will continue your subscription for another year. Thank you for subscribing, without you we would not exist.

I know I have written this in the past, but we really do strive to be the best local newspaper around. While we are not perfect by any means, we do try very hard to bring you as much news as we possibly can and in a fair manner. I feel that our area is one of the neatest, most interesting around and I also feel that the County Press fits perfectly in our area.

Remember last year when we were offering free Osceola train tickets for new subscribers? I heard a few rumblings from loyal subscribers asking me why I didn't offer existing subscribers some sort of a deal. After thinking about it, I agree. If you are a subscriber, and you refer a new subscriber, we would like to offer you two train tickets or two Saint Paul Saints tickets. To qualify, make sure the new subscriber mentions your name and address to us and we will take care of the rest. While we do have quite a few of each, supplies are limited.

One of my good friends has reached a milestone this week. Keith Leverton has retired from the Navy. Keith entered the Navy just out of high school and has been active up until his retirement last weekend. While our relationship is mainly made up of the two of us making fun of each other, what Keith has accomplished is no laughing matter. Service men and women have my utmost respect and gratitude. Congratulations to Keith and his family, and more importantly thank you.

While we try to keep religious undertones out of our editorials, this weekend is very special. I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter. I truly hope you get to spend it with your family. If you can not, make an effort to call the ones you love and let them know you are thinking of them.

As much as I was tempted to get on my riding lawnmower last weekend, I resisted. Many people look at mowing the lawn as an arduous chore, I look at it much differently. I look at it as my two hours of heaven. It is my two hours of no kids fighting with each other. It is my two hours of listening to the Twins game and not thinking about work. It is my two hours of remembering lyrics from songs from the 80's (then realizing I am glad I have forgotten them). That grass can not get green and long soon enough.

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