West End News: January 23

 
The permanent Tofte Post Office job has finally been posted.  The postmaster in Tofte has been temporary since Priscilla Revier retired a number of years ago.  The job is now part time, consisting of a split shift which totals six and a half hours per day with a two-hour break around lunchtime.  The pay is $12.94 per hour with limited benefits including paid vacation days and access to health care after the first year of employment.
 
The Lutsen and Schroeder post offices also have positions open for postmaster relief and replacement clerks. This means being the substitute postmaster on Saturdays and whenever the postmaster is gone for vacation or sick days. The sub position pays $11.76 per hour.
 
Applications can only be made online.  Just go to usps.com and click on the “Careers” link at the bottom of the page.  From there you can just type Tofte, Lutsen or Schroeder into the search field and get the job description and application form.
 
It’s a shame that these jobs don’t pay a higher wage.  In Cook County, even a full-time job that pays less than $13 per hour without benefits is not a living wage.  It used to be that post office jobs were considered good paying jobs.  However, the modern reality is that many locals work several part-time jobs to make ends meet.  Hopefully, these jobs will fit into someone’s schedule and provide a good chunk of the income they need to prosper.
 
I’m a big fan of free enterprise and allowing market forces to work, but over the last 20 years, the inequality between very richest people and the rest of us has gotten out of hand. The richest 85 individuals in the world now have the same amount of money as do the 3.5 billion people in the lower earning half of the world’s population.  This is not the result of free markets, but the result of the very rich buying the political clout they need to ensure that they continue to pile up unimaginable wealth.  This is not a good way to organize the world, to put it mildly.
 
I was pleased to read that the beautiful visitor center at Tettegouche State Park is finally nearing completion. Construction began back in July 2012 and was supposed to be completed last fall.  Apparently, bad weather and some other complications delayed the construction, but the 11,000-square-foot building is expected to open sometime in March.
 
By all accounts it will be a beautiful and welcoming facility with the latest energy-saving and green construction features.  The park management is excited about having many more interpretive displays and opportunities for visitors to enhance their visit to the magnificent Tettegouche State Park.
 
I won’t lie, though. I’m most looking forward to having the bathroom facilities available again.  Tettegouche seems to be in a very strategic location between Duluth and Cook County for bathroom convenience – at least for this coffee drinker.
 
The Birch Grove Foundation and the Town of Tofte are holding a community conversation concerning the future of the Birch Grove Community Center on Wednesday, Feb. 19.  As with most Birch Grove events, it will begin with wood fired pizza from 5:15 until 6 p.m and then structured conversation from 6:15 until 8 p.m.  The goal is to get input from all West End residents on how the Community Center should prioritize their goals and objectives.  They ask that you RSVP if you plan to attend by emailing [email protected] or calling 663-7977.
 
I highly recommend that everyone attend this important meeting to help make Birch Grove all that it can be for the West End.
 
Last week, I mentioned my memories of cold Januarys in the past.  The latest cold snap led me to page through my dad’s old weather diaries, and I found that in January of 1982 every single night was below zero.  Thirteen nights were 30 below or colder. Five nights were minus 40 or colder.  On the night of Jan. 10, 1982, the low temperature was 44 below, 2 inches of snow fell and the peak wind gust was 48 mph.  My dad made a note next to that entry commenting that the wind chill was minus 120 degrees.  Jan. 16, 1982, the high for the day was minus 30 and the low was 53 degrees below zero.  Mercifully, the winds were recorded as calm.
 
I don’t want to sound callous, but our recent weather is just a normal chilly January in the West End.
 
For WTIP, this is Bill Hansen with the West End News.