New Year's resolutions - bah, who needs 'em? It's always tempting to savor the thought of changing, improving, bettering ourselves in some way at this point in the new year.
Somehow, when the Christmas tree comes down and is put away, along with all the trappings of the season, our homes suddenly feel more spacious, streamlined and uncluttered. And that is the way we want our lives to feel, too. Hence - the urge to lose weight, get our finances under control, pay more attention to our parents or kids, or one of hundreds of other resolutions that we may or may not end up keeping. The fact remains, however, that we perennially experience the urge to move ahead, make things better and do something eminently worthwhile.
That being said, the suggestion might be in order for our local communities and county to look at making some New Year's resolutions as well.
First and foremost on the mind of the city of Cloquet, for example, should be to push the idea of a half-cent city sales tax through the Minnesota Legislature once and for all. In the past, it hasn't been for lack of effort that the issue has failed to pass, but it's going to take a fair amount of resolve to push it through after so many stymied attempts. It's an admirable resolve to tackle, however, and if our city leaders are successful, it could pave the way for a major facelift for the city and a new lease on life for future development.
Another issue both the city, state and county should attempt to resolve in 2007 is reconfiguring the intersection of Highway 33 and County Road 7 at the intersection just outside the Pine Tree Plaza in Cloquet. After years of living with the tangled rat's nest of traffic delays, fender benders and confused and frustrated motorists, we owe it to ourselves to make certain a major overhaul of the unwieldy intersection and surrounding area takes place before another year goes by.
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And finally, Carlton County would be well advised to resolve to pass an ordinance restricting smoking or tobacco use in public places and places of work in the county. As individual communities in the county have struggled to attack the issue of the dangers of second-hand smoke in a brave but piecemeal fashion, it's time the county levels the playing field for both business and citizens by clearing the air throughout the county at long last.
