MN DNR to check St. Croix boats for zebra mussels By R. E. Herman For the past three years, various government agencies have been attempting to come up with a plan that will halt the spread of zebra mussels into the St. Croix River.

Each year the tiny mollusk has marched closer and closer, making foray after foray in the virgin waters of the St. Croix.

According to John Dougherty of the National Parks Service there were seven positive finds of zebra mussels attached to boats in the St. Croix River during 1994. That number jumped to 31 in 1995.

This increase and the findings of developed and reproducing colonies of the water pest in the Mississippi River downstream has led the State of Minnesota to pass legislation banning zebra mussel infested boats from any uninfested waters in Minnesota.

Historic Courthouse is rockin’ The Historic Courthouse, 3rd and Pine Streets, Stillwater, will host its sixth annual children’s story time on Saturday, February 24th. The event is planned around the theme of “River Rocks and Sidewalks” and will begin at 10:00 a.m. and run until Noon.

Admission is $1.00 for adults and .50 for children with all proceeds going to the Courthouse Steppingstones grounds improvement project….For more information about Storytime of the Steppingstones project please contact the coordinator’s office at 430-****.

An Editorial after Lennon was murdered Anti-gun laws not answer to problem by AL DAVIDSON, Star opinion writer Last weeks’ opinion page contained an editorial by Scott Pengelly concerning handgun control. As usual, in articles of this type the amount of emotion present outweighs the amount of facts. Most antihandgun people tell us they only want registration and control of handguns. Mr. Pengelly wants to prevent all American private citizens from owning handguns. He plainly states this in his editorial.

He states, “perhaps if handgun laws were in effect, Mark David Chapman would have been caught attempting to obtain an illegal handgun.” Well sir, handgun laws are in effect and David Chapman broke those laws when he purchased the handgun. Further, it is quite likely that the seller of the gun was knowingly in violation of those same laws.

Mr. Pengelly states that criminals would be able to acquire handguns even if handgun control laws were in effect., particularly at first. New York City has the strictest handgun laws in the nation and has had those laws on the books for many years. The effect of those laws on crime is negligible. That right, Mr. Pengelly, the strictest gun laws in the county don’t help Joe Citizen one damn bit. In fact they hinder his right to protect his home and family from the dregs of our society. Please don’t try and tell me that you don’t need protection in your home in New York City. I lived there for 22 years and if you walk certain areas of the city at night the only guarantee is that you’ll probably be mugged. Don’t get me wrong. I do not advocate that everyone should carry a handgun. Just don’t tell me that I can’t have one in my own home.

Mr. Pengelly states, “If public opinion surveys are accurate, the majority of Americans favor some sort of handgun control.” Well sir, in a word, Bull! For every survey advocating controls, I’ll show you one that doesn’t. Senator Ed Kennedy of Mass. Tried to ramrod a handgun confiscation bill through the Massachusetts Legislature and the people of the state voted it down by better than 2 to 1. Senator Kennedy’s laws are about as popular as his driving and swimming tactics (a reference to Chappaquiddick).

If handguns are outlawed, any criminal wanting a concealable firearm will simply purchase a single shot or double barrel shotgun and cut it down to eight or 10 inches overall. I suppose Mr. Pengelly will then advocate confiscation of all shotguns. A sawed-off shotgun is a devastating weapon and if properly cut down it can be easily concealed. What now, Mr. Pengelly?

Probably the only way to reduce firearms crime is the introduction of stiff mandatory sentencing laws. The punk on the corner will think twice about holding up a gas station with a firearm if he know he gets 10 years in jail with no eligibility for parole because he used that firearm to commit a crime.

The problem is not with the average American citizen. It lies within our criminal justice system and will never be solved by passing anti-gun laws.

[(Original) Editor’s Note: Chapman did not purchase his gun illegally. He purchased the gun legally in Hawaii and transported it illegally to New York for use).

Additional Compiler’s Sidenote: Although only occurring once within this writer’s memory, but having typed up the police reports for elsewhere, it was stated by a caller in one such report that someone who happened to have a restraining order for fear of domestic violence also had a concealed carry permit. As such permit registries are generally private, this is stated strictly for anecdotal record. While the concealed carry permit registry is not public in itself for citizen privacy concerns, concealed carry permit holders are nonetheless required to disclose such to a peace officer upon request, according to dps.mn.gov. 56 Years Ago HASTINGS GAZETTE December 31, 1964 Chivalry Not Dead On Slushy Streets It wasn’t exactly a coat thrown over a puddle, but two gallant Hastings men were almost as chivalrous as the knight in the medieval story.

Instead of allowing their wives to walk through slush which was prevalent along the curbing in downtown Hastings Tuesday evening they quickly slopped through the mess, got into the front seat of their car, and drove it up onto the sidewalk, where the waiting ladies could easily get into the rear seat without getting their feet wet.

Who said modern men aren’t chivalrous?

80 Years Ago WASHINGTON COUNTY POST January 6, 1921 Motto: “A Servant of the People” New Subscribers: We are nearly to that 1000 mark, let’s make it 2000, we can do it with no effort on anyone’s part if you will each do your bit and send in one subscriber. Everybody now.

E. E. BLOMQUIST IS BUSY OFFICER Part of activities of county supt. of schools during past year During the fall months, he made 136 calls to schools. Excepting one, all the schools of the county have been visited at least twice. In a few cases, three visits have been made. Since April 14th, last spring, he has traveled in his Ford, on purely official business, not less than 7500 miles. A thousand miles a month is a conservative estimate.

Last June, he met with twenty school boards at the respective schoolhouses. This necessitated a trip of 200 miles within the county. An entire week was set aside expressly for this important work.

Of the number of township gatherings, mass-meetings, and conferences he has attended he has not attempted to keep track. Some weeks he has attended as many as three of these.

His office work is constantly increasing. Perhaps it is safe to say that it has doubled during the past four years. More records and more complete records must be kept. More elaborate reports to the State Department are called for. Bureaus, agencies, societies, associations, and departments add constantly to his increasing burden. His correspondence is rather heavy. On the average, not less than one hundred lets are mailed out every week. 120 Years Ago WASHINGTON COUNTY JOURNAL Winter 1900 Motto: “Independent and Impartial.”

The News In Brief President McKinley told a committee of the two houses he was glad congress