EDITOR:

So I read the candidate forum in Friday, Oct. 20th Daily Press. I feel the need to comment on a couple of things.

First, the “church-run” homeless shelter project. My company has participated in Hope at the Inn for many, many years. My church was one of the shelters for several years. There are a lot of places that have flyers up, “advertising” the homeless shelter. I do not believe that the city of Gladstone is opposed to this program. I would think that it would be the cost that limits advertising. Hope At The Inn is purely a volunteer effort. There are volunteers at the shelter from 6 p.m. until 7 a.m. In Marquette they have a permanent warming center. I do not know how their people handle things. Perhaps the city of Marquette pays for it. In the overall scheme of things, it would not be very expensive.

The second item is the water. I believe it was three years ago that the state mandated removal of all lead piping, even though there wasn’t a problem with lead here. The state also granted a ton of money to do this. Our rates went up because the city was mandated to do it. The very next year we got another major increase. Two years and not a whole lot of “lead removal” happened. This summer, lead coming out all over. Has the city tested to see if there is still no lead in our water? I would think that when you start opening up this stuff, it could release some. Our water rates have doubled in just a few years. And the worst part, we have nothing to say about it.

I live in town. Am I allowed to dig a well? I could get water and also get heating and cooling. There is a company that does that. Listen to the Steve Gruber radio show on WCHT 9 a.m. – 12 noon. They advertise heavy on there.

I appreciate any and all of you running for office, for wanting to put yourself out there. It’s by far too frustrating for me.

Tom Grant

Escanaba