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Huckabee Needs Voice

Posted 2/18/08

When republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee came to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Monday, he spoke adamantly about having Wisconsin’s voices being heard.

With numerous media outlets suggesting Huckabee to be a long shot and withdraw from the upcoming election, the former Arkansas governor doesn’t see any fairness to millions of Americans who have yet to vote in the primaries.

“Why should your voice not be heard?” he said to a full capacity crowd inside Davies Center’s Council Fire Room. “Until there are 1,100 delegates…we have an election. Your vote belongs to you.”   

Using elements such as “Huck-a-Math” and sports analogies, Huckabee attempted to easily relate politics with college students and local residents. With his anecdotal humor and serious tone, audience members laughed and applauded in approval.

Huckabee first addressed the crowd by calling for an increase of U.S. border patrol and the reduction of illegal immigration. By implementing tougher regulations and security posts, Huckabee proposed to make the issue solvable and beneficial for all citizens.

He also promised to subtract governmental spending and to become more energy independent. Upon leaving Arkansas in 2007, Huckabee had a $1 billion governmental surplus and was notable in his efforts. “You can’t spend more than [what] you have coming in,” he said. “As a governor I’ve done it successfully for 10 years.” 

Among other governmental policies and topics, Huckabee proposed to create a tax overhaul which would impact many individuals and small businesses. “I want to kill the IRS before it kills every business in the country,” he said.

By creating the “Fair Tax,” businesses that stay within the country would receive a tax break. However, if businesses continue to move offshore, a huge trade deficit would be encountered.

His plans to revive the economy would also include eliminating excess taxes on products made overseas – meaning consumers would only pay taxes at the consumption level.

Although Huckabee is proposing to eliminate and revamp numerous agendas, he also wants to add to the sanctity of human life with a pro-life amendment. “Life is the most basic right we have,” he said. “Your value and worth came from the God that created you.”

Tom Burton, Chairman of the College Republicans and President of the Conservative Union, couldn’t agree more. “I agree with the sanctity of human life [that] he is championing. Coming onto a liberal campus and not backing down on the pro-life rhetoric was huge,” said Burton.

Eau Claire sophomore, Josh Brunner, also believed in the pro-life amendment. “We need something that protects all states. The Roe vs. Wade overturn isn’t enough,” said Brunner.

As education remains on everybody’s mind, Huckabee acknowledged the problems of low-level teaching standards throughout the country.

“Education is the quest of learning,” said Huckabee. “It gives you tools for the rest of your life.” 

Using the analogy of basketball, Huckabee believes we cannot fluctuate and adjust grade-school standards in the classroom like the hoop height for each child on the court.

Throughout each school system, Huckabee wants to raise the standards of test scores and programs while keeping schools and teachers accountable. “Education has to be on equal level for every individual,” he said.

According to Huckabee, each day 6,000 students drop out of school because they are bored. He believes by implementing more music and art programs, students will better value and appreciate their education.

 As Huckabee continues to fight for his presidential nomination, he urges all Wisconsinites and Americans to get out and vote. “I’m looking at the next generation,” he said. “Not the next election.”

Eau Claire City Council Sparks Debate

Posted 2/19/08

As the Eau Claire City Council convened its first meetings of February, there was much public debate in regards to the city’s proposed road and sidewalk improvement plan.

In many Eau Claire neighborhoods and alleyways, numerous roads are in need of replacement and expansion. Doug Derks, Eau Claire’s City Engineer, proposed 13 street and sidewalk improvements throughout the city – many of which are in residential areas.

Although many street improvements were limited to repainting and repairing curb faces, some roadways were proposed to have more extensive construction work done.
Using various cartography maps and detailed measurements, Derks presented each road development separately to the city council.   

According to Derks, Chippewa River Dr., Lilac St. and Hickory Lane all need to be pulverized and resurfaced with asphalt to create a 100 year floodplain. Currently, each of the three roads is below floodplain level and needs to be raised between three inches to two feet. Although the project would effectively create dry land access for emergency medical personnel, it creates numerous other issues as well.

Throughout the area, many homes are already at or below floodplain level. When the temporary new road is constructed, numerous homes will need to be lifted three feet to ensure flood level safety. And as a result, the entire process will financially affect the city and many homeowners - with an estimated cost of $23 thousand dollars.

Melodie Glenn, who lives at 106 Hickory Lane, expressed her discontent with the construction project. “[We are] concerned about the pavement and how that is going to last,” she said. “Why does it have to be fixed now?”

Scott Wagner, who lives on the same road as Glenn, also opposes the idea. “I don’t see a need for a [temporary] street in there,” he said. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Although many individuals are discouraged by the idea of the road construction, City Council Vice President Kerry Kincaid does not agree. “The condition of the street right now is unacceptable. It cannot continue this way or it will deteriorate,” she said. “We have to do something.”

On Eau Claire’s north side, the debate regarding Wellington Drive also created a lot of controversy among residents and council members.

Derks and other city engineers proposed widening the residential street of Wellington Dr. and Piedmont Road to 32 feet across and implementing a sidewalk that would extend the length of the road and around the cul-de-sac.

According to Eau Claire city ordinances, any cul-de-sac or street over 750 feet long must have a sidewalk along its side. Currently, Wellington Dr. has a road length exceeding 1,000 feet.

With a neighborhood petition signed by nearly every resident on the street, many homeowners had high hopes of amending the proposal. The sidewalk’s main construction complaints were derived on the basis of eliminating property trees and the shortening of front lawns.

But as various individuals spoke adamantly against the sidewalk, city council member Hal Davis was not so easily persuaded. “Sidewalks help impede the speed of vehicles,” he said. 

With a total deliberation period lasting over an hour, two different proposals were issued and immediately rejected by a majority of council votes. But on the third and original sidewalk and street proposal, the city council unanimously decided to pass the estimated $199,100 construction project on Wellington Dr.

According to the Eau Claire Public Works Department, no start dates have been issued for the construction projects to begin. However, upon further finalization and approval, all construction bidding will begin in early summer.

Although many individuals do not agree with the city’s results, everyone can agree that personal safety always comes first.

City Council Briefing

Posted 2/13/08

On Monday, Feb. 12 and Tuesday, Feb. 13, the Eau Claire City Council continued its bi-weekly public hearings at City Hall, 203 S. Farwell Street.

On both evenings, each meeting lasted over three hours long with much public debate between residents and council members in regards to the city’s proposed road improvements.

In many Eau Claire neighborhoods and alleyways, numerous roads are in need of replacement and expansion. Doug Derks, Eau Claire’s City Engineer, proposed 13 street and sidewalk improvements throughout the city – many of which are in residential areas.

Using various cartography maps and detailed measurements, Derks presented each road development to the city council separately.

With many street improvements limited to repainting and repairing curb faces, some roadways were proposed to have more extensive construction work done.

According to Derks, Chippewa River Dr., Lilac St. and Hickory Lane all need to be pulverized and resurfaced with asphalt to create a 100 year floodplain. Currently, each of the three roads is below floodplain level and needs to be raised between three inches to two feet- creating dry land access for emergency medical personnel.

However, the current road concerns include road height, property floodplain levels and road longevity.

With homes on Hickory Lane needing to be raised three feet above the floodplain, many area residents oppose the new plan of a temporary road.

“Why does it have to be fixed now?” said Melodie Glenn, who lives at 106 Hickory Lane. “[We are] concerned about the pavement and how that is going to last,” she said.  

Scott Wagner, who also lives on the same road, also opposes the idea. “I don’t see a need for a [temporary] street in there,” he said. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Although much public opinion discourages the idea of implementing a new road, City Council Vice President Kerry Kincaid does not agree. “The condition of the street right now is unacceptable. It cannot continue this way or it will deteriorate,” she said. “We have to do something – it’s unacceptable.”

After a short panel discussion, the street proposal was passed in favor of a temporary road construction.

            Even though this issue drew much attention, none seemed to be bigger than the great debate on Wellington Drive. On Monday evening, numerous family members and neighbors spoke out against a possible sidewalk construction.

Doug Derks and other city engineers originally proposed widening the residential street of Wellington Dr. and Piedmont Road to 32 feet across and implementing a sidewalk that would extend the length of the road to the end of the cul-de-sac.

According to Eau Claire city ordinances, any cul-de-sac or street over 750 feet long must have a sidewalk - currently, Wellington has a road length exceeding 1,000 feet.

However, a neighborhood petition was signed by nearly every resident on the street in hopes to amend the proposal. Most complaints were derived on the basis of eliminating property trees and the shortening of front lawns.

As various individuals spoke adamantly against the sidewalk, some city council members were not so easily persuaded.

City Council members Hal Davis and Kincaid spoke against revising the proposal without the sidewalk. “Sidewalks help impede the speed of vehicles,” said Davis.

As deliberations on the topic went on for nearly an hour, two different proposals were issued and immediately rejected by a majority of council votes. But finally, on the third and original sidewalk and street repair proposal, the City Council came to a unanimous decision and passed the construction project on Wellington Dr.

As numerous topics were deeply discussed and analyzed, the Eau Claire City Council passed many important improvements in regards to its roadway systems. And although public opinion will be divided among these sensitive issues, there is no doubt these deliberations were in the best interest of the community.