Editorial: Worthington’s growth another positive
August 4, 2011 at 7:00 pm in Worthington Daily Globe
In the July 29 Daily Globe, a special “Positive Perspectives” section highlighted many of Worthington’s appealing attributes.
Apparently, many people already realize Worthington is a good place to live. Continue Reading
When a community becomes larger good things happen. There may be times when there are growing pains but if we stick together and keep our eye on the prize of a bigger, better, and safer community, we will eventually get there.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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When a community becomes larger do to wrongful immigration, I’ll agree it gets bigger. “Better, and safer community” hasn’t happened and I seriously doubt it ever will. Worthington is a sanctuary city you know, and that is usually not conducive to attracting “Better And Safer”!
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Worthington is not a sanctuary city by any stretch of your imagination. Immigration Enforcement is a role of the Federal Government. When people are arrested I.C.E. is notified and if they are illegally in the country they are processed through the federal immigration system. The result is those who are here illegally and who commit crimes and sent home. Those who are law abiding, spend money locally, pay taxes, and pay into social security which they will never be able to use are a positive addition to Worthington. These people are not a problem on the local level no matter how you try to spin the facts.
What do you expect to the local authorities to do and by what state statute do you think they can enforce immigration law?
You are long on talk but short on action. Every city in the United States has experienced illegal immigration at one point, some more then other. However, you imply that Worthington is not better or safer because of illegal immigration. Your assumption is wrong and your reasoning is flawed.
I would rather have one thousand illegal immigrants who do not commit crimes of violence then one naturally born citizen who does.
It is not the illegal immigrant that is to blame. Rather it is the degrading of values and morals that have created the society we have.
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Calvin – you are absolutely correct. Worthington is a far better and more interesting place to live because of its cultural diversity. Those who continually bash the city and its residents need to get out more, look around them, and perhaps then they’ll be less fearful and/or paranoid about the changes this community is experiencing. Immigrants are not going away. How one handles change will determine how happy (or miserable) one is.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I agree that the local authorities are doing all they can. Worthington is a sanctuary city, just google it up, you will find it on most all sanctuary city lists in the country. The immigrants know it is, for sure! If you work at swift and have 4.5 kids (which is their family average) and file a return you will most likely pay no taxes. On top of that you would qualify for the low-income credit and receive an additional $3,000 to $4,000 back courtesy of the real taxpayers. If you are supper illegal and know you aren’t going to file a return you claim a handful of dependents and they withhold little of nothing to start with. Pay Taxes? I make no assumption, I have lived here all my life and watched this wrongful immigration invasion from the get-go, I’ll guarantee you Worthington is not better or safer because of illegal immigration. If you believe anyplace is better off from illegal immigration you are the flawed one! You’d rather have one thousand illegal immigrants who do not commit crimes, Give Me A Brake; come on Calvin, just being here illegally is a crime. How do you teach your kids values and morals if you are willing to condone illegal immigration? These people are not a problem on the local level no matter how you try to spin the facts.? Check this: http://www.co.nobles.mn.us/Departments/SheriffsOffice/NoblesCountyJail/InmateListings/tabid/886/Default.aspx I think you need to re-think!
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I am not condoning any form of crime. But here are a few facts for you to consider.
01: Everyone is guilty of breaking the law. Be it speeding, rolling through a stop sign, sharing copy protected music, city ordinance violations and so on. If you say you have never broken the law you would be lying.
02: It is the very small minority of any population who are responsible for committing serious crimes (those that endanger life and property). The vast majority of any race is simply people who want a better life.
03: You talk about taxes – That is a federal issue and one that does not impact quality of daily life locally. It is an important issue but not one of safety or security, so do not try to spin this into something bigger, because there are a lot of people who pay very little taxes as a result of itemizing and deductions. Your immigration status has nothing to do with it.
04: Half of your comment is about taxes and then you make the radically jump to crime and use the Nobles County Jail internet site to support your claim. You are comparing apples and oranges. Only a few on the site are listed as “ICE Removal”, and that fact supports my comments that those who are illegal and commit crimes are processed through the federal immigration system for removal.
05: I do not condone illegal immigration and I do not run around saying the sky is falling and blame everything on illegal immigration as some do. Your comments have more to do with your view of the individual person then their behavior.
All of these facts are easily checked using national and state reporting, statistics and common sense.
Final point – you wrote, “I make no assumption, I have lived here all my life and watched this wrongful immigration invasion from the get-go, I’ll guarantee you Worthington is not better or safer because of illegal immigration.”
If it is as bad as your try to make it out to be why have you stayed here all your life? Why did you continue to live in a place that you believe is “not better or safer because of illegal immigration”?
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Deano — It must be sad to see the Mayberry from your childhood disappearing around you. But remember that even Mayberry had a town drunk and petty theft.
Maybe the city council should consider changing the city’s slogan from “Worthington – You’ll come to love us” to “Worthington – love it, or leave it.”
What do you think of that idea, all you naysayers and xenophobes?
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No, what’s sad to see disappearing is the United States of America. God Help Us, might be a better slogan!
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Deano – the USA isn’t disappearing… it’s changing and evolving just as it has for the last 235 years. I imagine the Pilgrims wouldn’t recognize it, either, and might lament “the good old days”… but how much time do you want to spend reliving the past? If you believe in God, then you must also believe that God doesn’t make any mistakes. Time to move on, embrace change and see what the world has to offer. Worry about things you can control.
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Because it snuck up on me slowly over time, but my eyes are wide open now. Leaving here is high on my goals list.
To bad Worthington can’t leave Worthington, same thing happened to it. Many of Worthington’s citizens have left do to this problem.
I guess I should have said that this is my hometown and I have spent most of my life here. Other places I have lived include Washington-state, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Kentucky, North Carolina, but that has nothing to do with the crime rate in Worthington, which has risen in direct relation to immigration. I think few people who have lived here long enough to know will disagree with that. Please do not assume I’m a racist because I am anti illegal immigration! I’m simply against any and all illegal immigration. Oh, and supporters there of!
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Worthington’s not safe? Are you kidding me? Crime is below the national average in Worthington.
On top of this positive, unemployment is below the national average and the cost of living is below the national average.
Immigration is the epitome of the United States of America.
Immigrants come her now for the sames reasons they have since the beginning of this country. Hope and freedom. Most of us are here because at some point in time, someone in our family decided to immigrate here. Latino’s were here before Europeans and occupied some parts of the USA, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and California for some examples.
Inscribed on a bronze plaque inside the Statue of Liberty is this beautiful sonnet.
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Emma Lazarus, 1883
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Deano, once again I applaud you for pointing out the obvious 800 pound gorilla that everyone is so willing to overlook……..ILLEGAL immigration. This has been, is, and will continue to be the downfall of this town. Naughtydog, I’ve had lady liberty as my graphic since the Globe switched to this new format and I know what she stands for and it’s not ILLEGAL immigration. Maybe we are safer than NY City or LA but look at the TYPES of crimes we have now that Worthington rarely experienced pre-packing plant……murder, robbery, shootings, stabbings, missing persons, molestations, on and on and on. As far as the employment numbers, ask JBS about turnover and the people who work for 1 paycheck, quit and stick around for the best welfare in the nation. In my opinion, Deano writes what most residents feel, we are Minnesota nice and this town has bent over backwards to help everyone who moves here, but at some point the lifeboat is full and is going to sink.
Worthington, you’ll come to love us.
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Pat e. …Absolutely beautiful
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Ah, for the good old days!
For those who might be “new” to the area, you should know that the packing plant has been here since at least 1965, when it was first operated by Armours. I’ve been around for a long time, and for the life of me can’t remember what life was like — or what the crime rate was — in Worthington BEFORE 1965. I doubt pat e. does, either. It’s SO very easy to paint every situation, and every individual or ethnic group, with the same broad brush. People who only find more bad than good in their surroundings should really consider a life change. It’s not healthy to be so negative, miserable, or unhappy or dramatic. Thanks, pat e., for once again slapping on the city’s slogan. We need to be reminded… even through your sarcasm.
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Pat e. probably should have said ‘Before Wrongful Immigration’ you remember when 99.9% of the workers were citizens making $15-hr give or take. When the owners closed the plant and re-opened months later paying $5-hr and started recruiting from the border. 1983, remember? You don’t remember what it was like before then, don’t remember the crime rate before then? If not you are too old, or been around to long!
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Eastender, comparing Armours to JBS is like saying a 1972 Pinto is the same as a 2011 Cadillac. Yes they both have 4 tires and a steering wheel but thats where the similarities end! Go to the local library and look through the archived Globe headlines and tell me how many drive-by shootings, rapes, robberies, murders, ect that you find from that era in Worthington. Was there crime back then? Yes but not like it is now. I can assure you that I have been around here since the Armour days and yes, it was much better. So go ahead and continue to post topics that don’t address the real issue…..ILLEGAL immigration, and I’ll continue to point it out. We’ll have to agree to disagree I guess. Name one positive thing that ILLEGAL immigration has done for Worthington.
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I’d rather have the 2011 Cadillac (JBS), than the 1972 Pinto (Armours). I assume that’s NOT what you meant to say, given the dates you selected, but it’s your metaphor. I have NO interest in digging through newspaper archives. Go for it! I prefer to live in the present and look forward to the future. The REAL issue should be how we can live NOW, not in the past, adapting to a changing world.
Your ONLY concern seems to be illegal immigration. There’s a lot more to life in Worthington than that. Keep banging the drum, if that makes you happy. A better solution would be to actually get involved in your community to try to resolve not only THAT issue but others as well. Relax, take a deep breath and get out and have a look around at the positive things that are happening in the city you CHOOSE to live in.
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How about Cal, you remember that? That’s when the wrongful started! Also for others new to town. Want to know more I can fill you in. This is not my first time and I can remember!!!
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Mayberry never existed except on TV. Never has, never will.
Crime, unemployment and the cost of living, all lower than the national average.
Your opinion can paint any picture you choose to create, but it doesn’t change the facts.
Carry on.
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The facts also do not make illegal ‘legal’ or turn wrong into right. That’s the issue. Is that the kind of town you want to call home? A town that is based on illegality, unethical and undesirable acts. Not me! I’m not looking for Mayberry but I would like peace, stability and legality, done right!
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Let me sum up my thoughts on this whole mess by first saying this….. the people working at JBS and those who worked at Armours deserve my repsect for the hard work they do. My previous post was meant to show that things are as different as they could possibly be in regards to how things have changed because of ILLEGAL immigration, in my opinion, for the worse. I’m still waiting for someone to tell me one positive thing that ILLEGAL immigration has done for Worthington or anywhere else.
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Acts of serious violence are no more prevalent in the illegal immigrant population when compared to the legal population. While illegal entry into the country is a crime, let’s maintain perspective. Simply being illegal does not make you a rapist, murderer or thief. This is a stereotype and a poor one at that.
If you truly wanted to see a change in illegal immigration you would be pushing the federal government (both republican and democrat) to enforce their own laws. You would be pushing state government to pass laws to work with the federal government in enforcing immigration law. You would be boycotting products and services from companies who you suspect support illegal immigration.
For all of those who complain, the truth is that the majority do not put their money where their mouth is. They like to complain but they also like the cheaper products and services which have come at the result of illegal immigration. They like to complain, but do not want to pay the taxes needed to properly staff law enforcement at the federal, state and local level.
There has not been a single post about calling Congress to demand change. If you are so concerned about crime (illegal immigration) why have you not gone to a city council meeting, called the Mayor or City Administrator and demanded that they allow the Worthington Police Department to be fully staffed or better yet add Officers so that more proactive enforcement could take place. And yes that would have an impact on illegal immigration. If you recall my earlier post, when a person is arrested for a crime and suspected of being illegal, ICE is contacted and the immigration process begins.
All of us could and should do more. Yet most people find it easier to complain, and avoid taking responsibility, and before you get mad let me point out that when you complain about something it then becomes your responsibility to fix the problem. If you fail to act then you are as guilty as those that commit the crime, for your lack of action is a silent condoning of the behavior.
I have called Congressmen. I have spoken to the Mayor. I have called the City Administrator. I am willing to pay more in taxes. Are you?
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