Editorial

Great weather followed by lousy weather. That’s spring for you. I’m sure the rain hasn’t been exactly perfect for farmers wanting to get into the fields either. I was able to get our prairie grass burned before the real soakings hit. Saying that I did it really isn’t true. I did about 15 minutes of helping really. Dave Harrison from Soil and Water and his crew of Scott Schaefer from the DNR and Mary and Vern Latwesen from rural Morrison did most of the work before I even arrived. (I guess my name was Blister that day…Showed up when the work was done!) It was probably better that way since they are trained in burning techniques. It is good for native grasses to be burned off every couple of years I am told. It helps keep competing plants at bay and helps them propagate. In simple terms, they grow better if properly burned every couple years. It is very easy to let these fires get out of control, and that was a great reason to have their help.

It is apparent from his actions that Governor Rod Blagojevich does not value services like help with burning native grasses or even some of the agricultural programs that help protect our resources. I suppose these things are not important in Chicago, which means they aren’t important to him. He still has yet to release funds promised to Soil and Water, and now the University of Illinois Extension offices are facing the same crisis. Programs like 4-H are in jeopardy of dropping from existence due to the same funding issues that Soil and Water is dealing with. These programs benefit rural Illinois, and are not considered important enough (by our governor) to get the funding that they were promised. He has proven once again that he is all about Chicago, and the rest of the state is along for the ride. I encourage you to talk to or write your state representatives and let them know what you think of this turn of events. I am personally very disappointed, and very concerned.

We now know the identity of our future school superintendent. I am confident that our board of education made a good selection for a new leader for our schools, and would like to welcome her to Morrison. I think she and Morrison have a lot to offer each other.

Thanks for reading, and thank you to all of our advertisers who make it possible to publish The Morrison Post and bring it to you every week for free!

Also, a big thank you to Dawn Zuidema and TheCity1.com for sharing stories with us at times. There are times when I just cannot make it to an important event or meeting, and Dawn has consistently been there to cover for us. Working cooperatively with TheCity1.com is always a pleasure.

(by Ben Wolf, Guest Columnist)