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<br />. <br /> <br />'; . ... .,::;:::;::~;:" <br /> <br />"Progress is .. one thing, de$truc~ <br />t-' . ... th'" "1\':/;< <br />Ion IS . ano. ... ~r... . .i;"? <br />Those words werespoken~lIle <br />about~ve'years ago by ap'l?ng- <br />time resident of Elk.R.iveFi~(':We <br />both observed tht}idestructio~of <br />a mile of solid forestalongb9th <br />sides ofHigl1waYf69. .." <br />Residents .of' . Eli; River . eyery- <br />where expressed theirshoc~~d <br />disdain for the City CouncWNot . <br />only . had .....they .... destroyed,,< an, <br />entire ecosystem and what was <br />once a scenic drive, but in doing <br />so. they had i~ort}d the'R~er- <br />whel~iT\g consel1S~.~the~~7 <br />stitlients, that tlI.e larid be~~ned <br />~e.... .... ........... tI...al....... ...a. s. . I.'.t w.....1lS... >......o.ri.gm.:..............~.............y..... <br />m ......... . d;wIthwooc1ed1ots.);'X",.. <br />E!lt,~y~~r~si~ep.~woke:~pt() <br />thes6undof,ch8ir.t;saWs as'thou" <br />9an,ds'pftz'ees we~eJe.)led. 01 <br />cl1i1d1'el:l/~edas . the! '. w <br />anitnaia....weed. in an..atte <br />asca~ei th~t}nsuing fire$X.In. <br />;ho~i.\an'...environmental catjiS" <br />~roph7 Wa.s ~eing \witness~.;by <br /> <br />ill..>.......,. ". \ <br />Itbecam.e obvious what thettue <br />.ntentionsofCity Hallwer~~An <br />mtire.mall was left half~vatiated <br />is stores and businesses m.~ed <br />Ip . the highway to.. occupy w;hat <br />;vas now. a barren wasteland. <br />IJ ew lights at each interseqJiion <br />vere . added,. causing .grid~()ck <br />,raffic along. with noise and; air <br />)ollution for local residl'$:ts. <br />l'win. Cities residents expressed <br />mger that anyone ..would ~ve <br />he shortsightedness to.bottle'up <br />LIT entire highway which Was <br />,riginally designed for cOpl- <br /> <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />muters traveling .i.upnorth. <br />Longtime local. businesses were <br />now forced to shutdown in place <br />. of the commercial.develo~ID.ent <br />. along High.Way 169. /''-X ...;. ... <br />Unfortunately this ... scel'1~o . is <br />being played out all oV~I'this <br />country... . . tJnch.ecked ..;urban <br />sprawl and.(l()~ercia!i~ation is <br />destroying, valuable . far111land, <br />forests and natural habitat. The. <br />. speed in whicb,thisis ha~p(hIing <br />is . appalling,.causing..many <br />. Minnesotans to reflect baclt and <br />wOllder how.~eey~rsurVi,v~ 30 <br />yearsl:lg()...withol1,t.....~. .sli~ping <br />mall, convemen.ce:store . '01'< fa.st- <br />foqd place 'located . eVery.. few <br />mib:l$................... <..\.<./<........... ..../?;.,: ..' .... <br />'rhehalfpftl.1,eElk ltive~MElH <br />that was vacatedsati.ptyfor a <br />fe.W'XE:l~s and then was torn <br />do~~onlytobe replaeed/bynew <br />buildings. CertainlY thisacti.on <br />alone would ..cause anyt.hi'Oldne <br />person to question the meIltal <br />competency and lack of vision of <br />our local politicians<< and <br />. Planning Cottrmission............ <br />. The most recent.. battl~ground <br />involves approximately 18 acres' <br />on the west side of Highway 169 <br />in front of Solid Rock. Church. <br />Originally promised by the <br />owner and. his... wife that., this <br />would be a park, and presently <br />zoned residential, it standSm <br />the. way of the greedy cominer- <br />cia! juggernaut. Last fall. Elk <br />River residents showed/ up in <br />droves to protest the cOlD.lD.ercial <br />development of this last under- <br />developed piece of ground. The <br /> <br />overwhelming majority oftJ:1ese <br />. residents. opposed the com~er- <br />cial development. . · . . . <br />The question now is who do'. <br />these local politicians represent, <br />their local constituents who put <br />them in office or the commercial <br />developers who line their pock~ <br />ets? Axe we going to witness a <br />repeat of the same scenario that <br />happened in the 1990s?' . . <br />The battleground for. the. <br />preservation and conservation of <br />the natural habit . arid enviion':. <br />ment is probably the most talked ' <br />about '. and . yet, in. reality, the . <br />least acted.on:jssue of our time. <br />Global wannii1& acid rain, d~for- . <br />estation andtb.e ozone layer. to . <br />. mention a few are no longer fig~ <br />. ments of someone's imagination <br />em the dire fOrecast of some' . <br />sional prophet. Someday .. <br />~1'I"'!ll and develo~rs' alike will <br />be forced to realize that even the <br />frogs have as much right to be <br />here ,as theydo~' If you kick. <br />nature in the back side it will <br />always retum with a vengeance <br />to forever triumph. In the end v.ve . <br />as humans will be the losers, for <br />naturewilI sUrvive. ' ..' . , <br />The battleground as I see itia <br />not just in the Amazon rain for., <br />est or some third world country' <br />but right here in our own back <br />yard and' across rural America. <br />We will all bear an accountabili- <br />ty for the decisions we make now <br />and for the future of our planet <br />and our children's children.-'- <br />Scott Fraser, Elk River <br /> <br />, :~ <br /> <br />.\ <br /> <br />d <br />