Ramsey Resident - 2003 - May/June

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10 CONNEXUS ENERGY TRUST GRANT The Connexus Energy Trust Grant, Inc. recently awarded a grant to the Anol<a Conservation District. The monies will enable ACD to worl< with science classes from three high schools to monitor stream water quality. With ACD providing equipment and technical assistance, students collect data that is scrutinized by professionals and then made available to state and local natural resources agencies. The biomonitoring provides the students with a "real-life" science project. Al Sannerud, Director of the Connexus Energy Trust, Inc. presentedACD Chair Kim Kovich with a $500.00 checl< at the Board of Supervisors March meeting. Sannerud explained that Connexus customers invest in their community by participating in "Operation Round- up", which was developed in 1998. Customers authorize their bill to be rounded-up to the next dollar and contribute that money to the trust program. The trust donates to programs in the area of youth and education, economic development, community services, environment, emergency energy assistance and disaster relief. COMMUNITY ACTIVITY SIGN If you are interested in renting space on the Community Activities sign at the Ramsey Municipal Center, please call Kathy Schmitz at 763-433- 9844. SLOWING THE FLOW OF JUNK MAIL Resident's of Ramsey, are you getting overwhelmed with the amount of junl< mail that you are receiving? If so, you are not alone. In the United States, during the calendar year of 1999, approximately 5.56 million tons of unwanted mail was delivered! About 22% (1.23 million tons) of that was recycled, resulting in about 4.33 million tons of unwanted mail that ended up in the garbage (source: Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 1999 Facts and Figures, U.S. EPA {2001}). This is the equivalent of32 pounds ofjunl<mail garbage per every woman, man, and child in America! One example ofjunl<mail is the "pre-approved" credit card solicitations that we have all received. In fact, almost 3 billion of these solicitations are sent to consumers every year (source: Money magazine)! For some, this may not be considered junl<, but for those of us who simply disregard these types of mailings, there are ways to remove yourself from the mailing list. First of all, you can significantly reduce the advertising mail by simply registering with the Direct Marl<eting Association's free Mail Preference Service. It's easy to do, and you'll be reaching some of the biggest direct marl<eters in the country with a single letter. All you need to do is send a postcard with your name (include all forms, i.e. Ted, Theodore, TG) and address to Mail Preference Service, PO Box 643, Carmel, NY, 10512-0643, requesting that your name be placed in the "delete file". This will remove your name from their mailing list for a period of 5 years (please note that this will certainly help reduce junl< mailed but it will not eliminate it). The nation's major consumer credit bureaus have established a toll-free number to get your name off lists for pre-approved credit card solicitations. That number is 1-888-5-0PTOUT (1-888- 567 -8688). The recording will asl< for your social security number, full name, address and telephone number. The service allows you to opt out for two years or permanently. No matter what you picl<, you can always "opt bacl< in" at any time by calling this same number. F or more information on how you can reduce waste, please refer to the following website: www.reduce.org. Also, l<eep in mind that mixed mail can be included in the curbside recycling bin with the newspaper and magazines. For recycling information or questions, please contact Chris Anderson at 763-427- OPEN SPACE WORKSHOP! The Sierra Club and Protect Our Parl<s are holding a worl<shop designed to help citizens understand our local development process and get involved in open space preservation. The event will be held Saturday, April 26th, at the Rum River branch of Anol<a County Libraries inAnol<a. The Worl<shop will run from 10:00 am until 12:30, followed by lunch and a guided nature hil<e through Rum River Nature Area. For more information, please contact Sprawl Organizer Trevor Russell at: trevor.russell@sierraclub.org or call 612-659-9124. The secret to finding something is knowing where it is. - Tigger