Direct Hitts by Shari Hittesdorf

I know, I know, updating my blog has been long overdue. Doreen’s recent post after her long hiatus has put the pressure on me. (http://sleepyeyeonline.com/doreenblog/)

She actually got me thinking about my personality color – I have been a GREEN lover for as long as I can remember. I actually drive my friends and family including my children nuts because I’m soooo “green”. If something is left up to me, there’s a 99% chance it’s gonna be green.  Not one but two green vans, green bike, green bathroom, green office, green kitchen, green kayak, green blog…..need I go on? No Green Bay Packers though…nope that would just be WRONG!

So what does my GREEN addiction actually say about me…well, I was astonished to find out this personality color test thing Doreen referred  to in her blog was incredibly accurate…who would have thunk…

• With a personality color green you are a practical, down-to-earth person with a love of nature. (practical is what gets me in trouble when it does come to decorating, fortunately I do have “people” in my life to “help” with those kinds of decisions…and I love nothing more than being at my cabin and more particularly in my kayak)
• Having a personality color green means you are kind, generous and compassionate – good to have around during a crisis as you remain calm and take control of the situation until it is resolved. (my kids might disagree with the calm part…they have seen me at my worse… but everyone else sees the calm side of me)
• You are caring and nurturing to others – however you must be careful not to neglect your own needs while giving to others. (guess they are referring to those middle of the night ambulance runs in which I put myself in sleep deprivation mode in order to help someone else)
• You are intelligent and love to learn – you are quick to understand new concepts. (Hear that… intelligent!…and yes, I do love learning new things)
• You are a good citizen and like to be involved in community groups. (Sleepy Eye ONLINE is my way of getting involved with our fine community)
• You have high moral standards and doing the right thing is important to you. (this one gets me in trouble emotionally way too often…I have this sense of fairness…and few things are fair in this world)
• You like to be accepted, appreciated and admired for the good you do in the community as well as in your family life. (When someone says “thanks” ….a really cool feeling)
• You are a loyal friend. (I consider most everyone a friend. However, I don’t brag a ton of close friends but those I have I cherish)
• You are strong-willed and do not like to be told what to do by others. You do like to win arguments and do not concede defeat easily. (Yeah, I gotta admit to this one…I can’t help it I’m always right)
• You are business orientated and love to work in your own business. Money is important to you but you are generous.  (I have always been good with money, unfortunately I haven’t quite figured out the “rich” concept yet.
• You make an excellent counselor, psychologist, social worker as you are a good listener and can view others problems with empathy, clarity and a balanced analysis, seeing both sides while showing respect and caring. (Is that why my office is a revolving door…always someone bringing me a dilemma?)
• You process information quickly. (Trust me, if you had to raise five boys, you would understand this is a requirement for survival) 

So…there you go…I could never be a PURPLE person…not anything like that Doreen…nope….she’s definitely a purple person…me, I’m GREEN through and through…just another reason there will always be “Game On” between the two of us.

I knew not investing in education in our community would have its effects, ignorance now appears to be running rampant among residents as proven by the following which was written in a Comment thread from the New Ulm  Journal’s story that reported the referendum failing.

I think the reason alot of people voted no is because, from what I hear in the coffee shops is that your community is sick of paying for the extra’s the hispanic students take away from the english speaking students. Higher costs for people who are not paying taxes, need special help etc. This is just the talk at the coffee table. They also speak ill of the superintendent who thinks he should run the school in the mirror image of the school his wife is supt. at. Getting rid of the food service program and hiring Taher and this new food service director who seems to know squat, they feel he can run the school, he can find the funds to do it. Also heard around the coffee table is that your citizens are mad about developing the Snow farm acres… for what? Who with strings attached to the city needed some extra cash? I am just repeating …which I know is not always accurate but you have to listen to a group of 15 men sitting around talking…they can’t all be wrong…can they  (This was copied and pasted exactly as written)

(READ THE STORY / VIEW THE COMMENT THREAD)

You know, I actually heard that the folks who voted NO are people who go to church regularly, they call themselves good Christians and stellar supporter of the community. They also own new homes, cool cars and lots of “toys” They have come up with the above mentioned excuses because the extra tax they may incur could cut into their “fun” And of course, they ALL send their kids to St. Mary’s……Yep, this is what I heard when I was out-and-about in the community. Hey, must be true after all, so many people saying it…?

OK, OK, OK, enough with the sarcasm…actually enough with all the inaccuracies….

Let me now offer you a lesson about our local school and community:

• First of all, what some choose to call Hispanics – I call community members – most offering the labor force and financial support necessary to prevent us from becoming a ghost town. (many of these same people, by the way, have longstanding roots in Sleepy Eye.)
• The more students in a school system, the more dollars received from the state in aid. Take away, as you call them, the Hispanic population and you take away a lot of jobs in the school which in turn deprives our community of revenue.
• Special services are offered to all students in need, including my own. It’s the law. And with some of these services, comes additional funding to the school system. And just for the record: Many students who would otherwise attend St. Mary’s School, come to Sleepy Eye School in order to get these necessary services, to help them receive the best possible education based on their needs.
• Property taxes are paid by almost everyone. And if you are a renter, you pay them indirectly, through a landlord.
• As for our superintendent….John Cselovszki has a passion for education and he wears that out on his sleeve. He definitely is enthusiastic but I promise you, he fights for what HE believes is best for the kids. One tidbit I’d like to point out….last year he trekked to Marshall on a Friday night to attend St. Mary’s State Football game. He had no reason to be there other than show his support for the community and the kids involved. That game came just days after the second attempt to pass a Sleepy Eye Schools Referendum failed. And if Mr. C would have believed all that “coffee shop” talk, he would have been led to believe that referendum didn’t pass because EVERYONE from St. Mary’s voted NO.
• Food Service: Sleepy Eye Schools, along with all other schools in the nation were forced to adopt new federal lunch program guidelines starting this year. Taher was hired because they could offer a professional service with trained chefs to manage the local school lunch program. The previous lunch staff remains intact and are now employed by Taher.
• There is no connection between the Sleepy Eye School Board / Administration and the City of Sleepy Eye Council / Administration, other than they occasionally work together for what’s best for the community. The goal with the Snow Farm property is to develop property so the community can grow; the job of the school is to develop minds which might, in fact, bring new businesses to that development.

Instead of listening to all the coffee shop talk that speculates on the reasons why the referendum hasn’t passed, I challenge those that voted NO to stand up for what you believe in. Make your statements in a public forum so the community knows where you stand and more importantly why you feel that way. Our kids deserve to know the truth as to why this district keeps saying NO to financial support for our schools.

As for the headline of this blog….well, I’m sure it won’t take long for my feelings to turn back in a positive direction….there are a lot of great things about Sleepy Eye too…and especially a lot of special people…..

 This column brought to you because of the quality education I received from Sleepy Eye High School – in a time when the community actually understood and appreciated the value of a good education. And in a time when we treated every resident with the respect each deserved!!!

I’m usually not much into voicing my opinion publicly on politics but yesterday I listened to my children discuss the Marriage Amendment on this year’s ballot.  Often times I just shake my head at their thought process but on this  issue I was very proud of their view.

They expressed their belief that no one has the right to decide what makes someone else happy and that they didn’t care who anyone chose to spend their time with. They were also upset that there was so much money being spent on an issue that, in their minds, was so irrelevant.

They hold, with great confidence, the belief same-sex marriage will be legal across the nation in their lifetime.

Somewhere along the road they actually did listen….everyone is different, no one is superior….everyone deserves to be treated with respect. #proudmom!

As for some of the other issues voters will decide:

• Two of my boys are still in school – they deserve the best education possible, not some cut rate experience because our community is too cheap and too ignorant to understand the importance of a strong school system. It’s time to wake up Sleepy Eye, vote yes on the referendum.
• Vote no on the voter ID. It’s not that I don’t believe voter fraud exists but I just don’t think this state can afford the financial implications that go with the change.
• As for the politicians running for office…..I have faith the right people will be voted into office. I would, however, like you to consider that this country was in huge disarray long before Obama took office. Wouldn’t  it be nice to allow a budget plan, any budget  plan, to play out. We are a nation of instant gratification, this is one area that’s just gonna take some time to get back on track. No politician is going to “quick fix” anything!

Congrats to the St. Mary’s Knights on their first-ever Southern Minnesota A Football Conference title with a 7-0 record.

This is their first football conference title of any kind since 1975 (DeSmet). Can you name the players on that squad?

I can….well, with some help from my husband who was a senior on that squad. I bet you recognize several of these names:

Row 1: Steve Schmidt, Mike Schumacher, Jeff Cook, Jim Ganske, Brian Berdan, Row 2: PJ Hittesdorf, Neil Mangen, Joe Sellner, Ron Haala, Tom Hansen, Rick Wintheiser, Dave Rubey, Mike Ladd, Jeff Mages, Scott Tauer. Row 3 Coach Jeff Conway, Tom Schroepfer, Pat Bruggeman, Jeff Helget, Pete Schumacher, S. Guldan, Denny Lux, Kevin Broich, Dan Tauer, Mitch Maurer. Row 4: Coach Ralph Zwaschka, Mike “Benji” Groebner, Tom Callahan, Billy Fischer, Tim Weicherding, Steve Pelzel, Dave Berdan, Les Hittesdorf, Greg Gangelhoff, Wayne Pelzel (head coach) Row5: Lowell Mathiowetz, Chuck Schmidt, Pat Ladd, Kevin Witt, Jerry Ganske, Tom Schmidt, Pat Bohnen.

There are a couple of names PJ couldn’t remember – let us know if recognize them or if we got any of these listed incorrectly. 

*PJ remembers Jeff Cook, who was a stellar athlete in high school, missing most of the season due to an injury. Let us know any other memories from that season.

news@sleepyeyeonline.com

I am here to admit I have wasted many hours watching championship sporting events. (No Doreen Tyler, I am not implying, in any manner, that sports are a big waste of time!) What I’m talking about is all the time I spent watching a blank screen when I thought I was watching a big game. If I could only have those hours back, I certainly would have put them to better use!

OK, OK, let me clarify that I really don’t sit and stare at the television screen.

My revelation about lost time came to me last weekend when I was watching USC play Hawaii in college football. The game announcer said USC has had six Heisman Trophy winners.

“Hold the phone Mr. Announcer…my encyclopedia sports mind knows they have had seven. Ha, got ya!”

Oh wait, guess the TV dude really was right. Reggie Buch’s stellar 2005 season never happened. Erased from the books.

And USC’s Orange Bowl win over Oklahoma to win the National Championship in 2004…never took place. Both titles were stripped due to rules infractions.

Remember how we cheered the Gophers men’s basketball team to a final four in 1997….nope, academic scandal. How many games did I sit on the edge of my seat watching that run!?!

Lance Armstrong was recently stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. So much for my time and energy, day after day, cheering him on…

And all those years of following Joe Paterno and Penn State, 111 wins since 1998, purely a waste of my precious time. According to the record books, the contests never happened.

Remember in 2008 when, now Chicago Bulls superstar, Derrick Rose led Memphis to the NCAA championship game…Kansas actually took the court and won an overtime game…against no one. Apparently someone else took Rose’s college entry ACT test.

Marion Jones and her five-medal performance at the 2000 Sydney Games also never happened. Jones was erased from the Olympic records courtesy of steroids.

And do you recall when the Saint went on to win the SuperBowl in 2010 after “Bounty Gate.” They hunted Viking quarterback Brett Favre until they nearly broke his ankle……OH WAIT,  that game, UNFORTUNATLEY, remains in the records book…despite four players, two coaches and the general manager being suspended for playing a role in trying to intentionally hurt  players. Nope, we’re forced to continue to feel that pain. The Saint get to keep their trophy there which makes it a double whammy for me, as I was a huge Colts, Peyton Manning fan too. (New Orleans beat Colts in the SuperBowl)

Anyway, I think you get my point. I can’t help but wonder why I should spend time watching any sporting event these days when down the road it might be declared never to have happened. Fact is, as I get older I’m having more and more trouble recalling all those great moments embedded in my brain. So now I’m supposed to filter out what actually materialized and what never transpired, despite my emotional involvement in everyone of those big time events.

Considering all the frivilous lawsuits filed these days, I’m thinking I actually have a chance to sue the sports world in an attempt reclaim all those hours wasted.

Might even give me enough time back to actually be caught up with things for once up in my life. NOT!