The Newsleaders
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Sartell – St. Stephen
    • St. Joseph
    • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Column
    • Editorial
    • Letter to the Editor
  • Community
    • Calendar
    • Citizen Spotlight
    • Criers
    • People
  • Notices
    • Funerals/Visitations
    • Obituary
    • Police Blotter
    • Public Notices
    • Support Groups
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Submissions
  • Archives
    • Sartell-St. Stephen Archive
    • St. Joseph Archive
  • Advertise With Us
    • Print Advertising
    • Digital Advertising
    • 2021 Promotions
    • Pay My Invoice
The Newsleaders
No Result
View All Result

PineCone Pet Hospital MillerCarlin Serving all of central Minnesota locations!

Albany: 320-845-2035
Holdingford: 320-746-9994
St. Cloud: 320-252-7004
Upsala: 320-573-6234
Toll-free: 1-800-644-4058
Collegeville Stearns Bank
Home Opinion Column

Let’s hope ‘cloud machine’ gets fixed

July 13, 2012
in Column, Sartell – St. Stephen
0
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Hunter Dubbin, who is only 7 years old, can’t wait until the Verso paper mill opens again.

He has noticed there are less clouds in the sky since the explosion at the mill.

Hunter, the son of Al and Linda Dubbin, lives on the outskirts of Holdingford. He is one of the four grandchildren of my good neighbors, Richard and Marty Dubbin.

When Hunter was a younger tyke, he would often go with his grandparents to the Sartell Family Dollar store, which is their favorite place to shop. As they crossed the bridge, Hunter would always point out the window to the tall Verso “chimney.” Then he would practically shout with happy amazement, “Grandpa, Grandma, look! It’s the cloud machine!”

Hunter was convinced that is where all the clouds in the deep-blue sky come from — that cloud-making factory near the Dollar Store.

After the Verso explosion last Memorial Day, Hunter once again went with his grandparents to the Dollar Store.

“Grandma, Grandpa, the cloud machine is broken,” he said, disappointed. “There’s no clouds coming out of it.”

Richard and Marty explained there was a bad accident at the cloud factory. It will, they said, be fixed and then the clouds can start once again rising into the sky. But on every trip since then, Hunter looks disappointed.

“Still broke,” he says. “No more clouds.”

Recently, on a trip to Duluth, Hunter saw another paper mill.

“Look!” he exclaimed. “There’s ANOTHER cloud-making machine. This one is working!”

By now, Hunter knows those factories don’t produce “real” clouds, but it doesn’t matter because he wants, in his stubborn imagination, to keep thinking that is where clouds – the kind that make rain – come from. That tall, sky-blue chimney in Sartell. And I can see why Hunter loves to believe that. Many times while driving in the Sartell area, I would see that condensation tower (or whatever it is), and I would be impressed by the beauty of all of that big, pale blue contrasting with the radiant-white cloudy plumes rising from it. It’s a pretty sight.

Hunter is not alone in hoping the cloud-making machine gets fixed and then opens again. We all hope so. That paper mill has always been a giant in Sartell, one of the economic-social foundations of the city – a big employer and a major taxpayer. A shut-down of that plant would be a blow to the city and to the people who depend on that plant for its decent-paying jobs. I know several acquaintances who work there; I worry about what they will do if the plant closes.

Company officials, Sartell city staff and concerned legislators have been issuing cautiously optimistic reports about the likelihood of resuming production at Verso. But damage estimates and other costs seem to hang in the sky like gathering storm clouds – not the radiant-white happy clouds Verso has made for so many years.

We are hoping for the best. We, like Hunter, are looking forward to the day when, as we cross that bridge in Sartell, we can see that baby-blue cloud-making machine in action once again.

Previous Post

Never leave children, pets inside a closed vehicle

Next Post

Joetown rocks again with music and fun for all

Next Post

Joetown rocks again with music and fun for all

Please login to join discussion

CMCU Twitter Follow us on
Twitter
for the latest news!
Facebook Follow us on Facebook
for the latest news!
Calendar 2 Click here for our
community events!

Go Fund Me # 1 Thank You
Newsleader
Supporters!
Elizabeth Brunsvold
Cultural Connections
Jim Berg & Mary Kruger
Mary & John Davis
Sandy Denne
Bobbi & David Gouker
James & marry Graeve
Juliana Howard
Julia Joplin
Linda Kmitch
M. Molus
Sheila Nahan
Go Fund Me # 2 Thank You
Newsleader
Supporters!

Peggy & Michael Roske
Judy Scheuerell
Geraldine Schwab
James Stotko
James Towler
Anna Trobec
Kaye Wenker
Ellen Wahlstrom
Leona Wieland
Jeanie Wilkens
GAGEN & VASUGI RAMANATHAN
Go Fund Me # 3 Thank You
Newsleader
Supporters!
Nicole Borg
Erica Karger-Gatzow
Dane & Lori Listug-Lunde
Nadine Martin
Doris Minnerath
Merry Mund
Marilyn Peitso
Stephen Schwanke
Dianne Tuff
Dale Zacher
Private Donors

Search

No Result
View All Result

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Winter fun at Snowfest
  • Foundation sponsors I Love to Read Giveaway
  • Free frozen meals available for senior citizens
  • Kluesner sworn into St. Joseph City Council
  • Local artists serve up art by the slice

City Links

Sartell
St. Joseph
St. Stephen

School District Links

Sartell-St. Stephen school district
St. Cloud school district

Chamber Links

Sartell Chamber
St. Joseph Chamber

Community

Calendar

Citizen Spotlight

Criers

People

Notices

Funerals/Visitions

Obituary

Police Blotter

Public Notices

Support Groups

About Us

Contact Us

News Tips

Submissions

Advertise With Us

Print Advertising

Digital Advertising

2021 Promotions

Local Advertising Rates

National Advertising Rates

© 2021 Newleaders

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Sartell – St. Stephen
    • St. Joseph
    • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Column
    • Editorial
    • Letter to the Editor
  • Community
    • Calendar
    • Citizen Spotlight
    • Criers
    • People
  • Notices
    • Funerals/Visitations
    • Obituary
    • Police Blotter
    • Public Notices
    • Support Groups
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Submissions
  • Archives
    • Sartell-St. Stephen Archive
    • St. Joseph Archive
  • Advertise With Us
    • Print Advertising
    • Digital Advertising
    • 2021 Promotions
    • Pay My Invoice

© 2021 Newleaders

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In