As a child, every Christmas I would sit down with several catalogs and make a list of all the toys I wanted for Christmas. I would grab several catalogs, a pen, and 20 or 30 sheets of paper and start writing &045; a task that could occupy the good part of an afternoon. When finished, this tome would go to family members &045; mainly my parents and grandparents &045; in addition to being mailed to Santa Claus.

Having grown up in the ’70s and ’80s, most of the items on my wish list were Star Wars-related. However, as we grow older, the kinds of things we deem important change. Following is my wish list for this Christmas &045; and all of it is potentially available locally.

1. A four-way stop at the intersection of First Avenue and Clark Street. Clark has hills on both sides of the intersection that can be hard to see over, especially with parking allowed on both sides of the street. As soon as this prevented one traffic accident, it would pay off.

2. Raise the speed limit on Garfield Avenue and Front Street to 45 miles an hour from the Main Street intersection to Frank Avenue. There are no intersecting streets along that stretch. Besides, this would be much safer for the people who currently obey the posted speed limit and are consequently passed by cars that do drive faster.

3. Change from a timed traffic light system to one that senses vehicle weight. Often have I waited too long to cross Broadway via Front Street at 5:45 a.m., when no other cars are in sight. Other times, I have seen the light change from red to green and back to red in the time it takes to drive along Front from Newton to Broadway.

4. Fix the traffic problem on Bridge Avenue between Fountain and Clark Streets. This could be accomplished by either installing a three-way traffic light, or by closing Bridge between the two streets. Traffic could connect between Fountain and Clark via Newton Avenue, which already has a traffic light in place. Nelson’s Texaco would still be accessible from the open part of Bridge for Fountain Street traffic, and from the north side of Clark Street.

5. Switch out some of our current fast food restaurants for something different. We have three each of McDonald’s, Subway and Dairy Queen, and two Pizza Hut restaurants. How about something new and different, like Culver’s, Arby’s, The Olive Garden, Red Lobster, or the Long John Silver restaurant that was allegedly supposed to be built here 20 years ago? The Green Mill will be a nice start, but let’s not stop there.

6. An ordinance that would prevent city and county employees from granting themselves raises during years when projects they have approved (without our opportunity to vote) increase our tax burden above an established percentage. The potential loss of a cost-of-living increase might prevent our elected officials from hitting us with all kinds of improvements at the same time, and would make for a little more fiscal responsibility in our local government.

7. For Greater Jobs, the city and the other applicable powers-that-be to be held publicly accountable for every business that displays an interest in locating in Freeborn County. It is, after all, our community that is affected by what happens behind their closed doors. This would benefit the public by letting us know truthfully why or why not a business would choose to locate here, and benefit those in charge by preventing rumors about the same.

8. On that note, to keep Quality Pork out of Albert Lea. Having yet another meat processing facility locate here will only keep us in our past. Though it is important to remember where we have been, it’s time for Albert Lea to move into the future &045; not just from Farmland, but from the meatpacking industry as a whole.

I also have one final wish: that you and yours all have a very warm and meaningful Christmas season. Happy holidays, and don’t forget just what it is that we are celebrating.

Dustin Petersen is an Albert Lea resident. His column appears Mondays.