Our View: Cheers and Jeers

Cheers: to the search-and-rescue volunteers who accept the job as a necessity and with a willingness to serve our community. After a recent tragedy, dozens of rescuers, most of whom have a background in law enforcement, spent their entire Christmas day searching for lost snowmobilers, rather than with their families. In talking with some of these volunteers, most impressive was their universal response to the sympathy extended to them and their families for missing the Christmas holiday. All expressed an honor for the work they do: this is what we do, and we don’t get to decide when our work is needed; we just do it. Very impressive.

Cheers: to the workers who placed hay bales at the end of the Pinehurst Park sledding hill. The hay bales make this excellent sledding hill a bit safer for kids and a bit more relaxing for worried parents. The comradery at the hill is impressive too, proving once again that it’s safe to send our kids out to play, because in Cloquet there always seems to be someone willing to step up and help others, even strangers.

Cheers: to the nice, thick snow cover we got this past week. Although we hear a lot of grumbling about the snow and the need to shovel, many of us are excited to get out our snowshoes, cross-country skis and snowmobiles and have a little fun, now that we have enough snow to enjoy winter sports. And, face it: even shoveling the sidewalks gives us a chance to reconnect with our neighbors, as we pleasantly grumble to each other about the chore we are doing.

Cheers: to the city crews and volunteers who installed the holiday lights in Spafford Park (the campground), Fauley Park (the train) and Veterans Park this season, and kept them lit the whole month (in the past, it’s been only weekends). Many of the lights were donated from Nathan Bentley and Bentleyville, and they look terrific.

Cheers: to the generosity of local shoppers. The Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign raised a substantial sum locally. From the pennies of little kids, to the change and bills left over from shopping, to the bigger donations by anonymous givers, those donations will allow the Salvation Army to continue the good work it does in the community. The Stuff the Squad toy drive by the Cloquet Police Department also reported a great year of donations, collecting three pickup-truckloads of toys to donate to the Salvation Army for the families in need it serves.

Jeers: Maybe it’s the season, but we don’t have a whole lot to jeer about right now. Maybe things will get worse in the New Year? We hope not, but it probably will.