Leach, leach, leach.

It was good that Gov. Tim Pawlenty visited Albert Lea so many times in 2007. We thought our Republican governor seemed to care about our southern Minnesota community.

But talk is no good without action. His proposed bonding bill seems to drop Albert Lea from his priorities.

Leach, leach, leach.

Albert Lea officials and local elected leaders in St. Paul worked hard in 2007 to request $2.5 million additional state funding for the cleanup of the former landfill beneath North Edgewater Park. For goodness sake, vinyl choride and other chemicals from the landfill are leaching into Fountain Lake. We need help.

It seemed Albert Lea was going to get the money last year, but the Legislature and governor never agreed upon the bonding bill. So the landfill continued to leach, and Albert Lea had to wait.

Leach, leach, leach.

Yes, the bridges and roads are a major portion of the governor&8217;s proposed bonding bill, but so are some not-so-important items:

– $2 million for state truck stations in Rochester and Maple Grove. (Truck stations are more important than a leaching landfill?)

– $2 million for property acquisition for the St. Cloud Regional Airport. (Can&8217;t St. Cloud pay for this?)

– $5 million to renovate the Community Services Building on the Morris campus of the University of Minnesota. (Again, more important than a leaching landfill?)

– $40 million for the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. (Goodness knows rock bands need a place to play. Besides, if the state is eager to build a gem of a civic center, build in Albert Lea at the Blazing Star Landing.)

– $4 million for a public safety training facility in Olmsted County. (Can&8217;t they travel to train like everywhere else?)

Leach, leach, leach.