I for one don't think it's a capital idea, as Larry Geisen suggested in a spotlight letter on Feb. 12, for a permanent ice palace to be erected in St. Paul, especially not on Harriet Island as others (suburbanites) have suggested.

As a lifelong resident of St. Paul and the West Side neighborhood, I am always amazed when people are always in favor of certain projects as long as they're "not in my back yard."

Before Harriet Island became a regional park, St. Paul and West Side residents enjoyed summer months of picnicking, softball games, leisure walks, accessible parking and lots of other quality-of-life activities on Harriet.

Now, the summer months on Harriet are filled with bicycle rallies, Lance Armstrong wannabes putting walkers and children at risk and usually some kind of event on the field that usurps the parking and accessibility. Not to mention the traffic jams.

So this West Sider says no thanks to the palace on Harriet. However, a new location for the Dorothy Day Center is being tossed around. How about that one in some suburban backyard?

Gilbert de la O, St. Paul

Disruptive students

Teaching children used to be a satisfying vocation. Most parents took an active role, teaching their children to value education. Today, 15 percent or more of kids in middle and high school are disruptive, disrespectful, disobedient, dishonest and quite ready to attack other students and/or adults. How is district administration dealing with this?

Administrations in the Twin Cities react to these problems by blaming the teachers. They have spent over a million on anti-racism seminars. If only the teachers would "show more love." No suspensions! "They can't learn if they're not in school." This is a joke.

Teachers must keep disruptive kids in their classrooms where they prevent the other students from learning; where they bring an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. There is very little in-school detention, perhaps a brief trip to the administration office, then back to the classroom. Unfortunately, there are no effective disciplinary measures teachers can employ, while still teaching their subjects effectively. What are kids learning from these policies? That there are no real consequences for bad behavior. What are the teachers learning? That they are not valued. There is no effective support system in place for them. They are truly stressed out. The district is even having to hire substitute teachers through temp agencies. Why? The regular subs don't want to teach under the conditions they find in the schools today.

Is there a solution? There must be public dialogue, an honest airing of these problems. Investigate how the parochial schools do it. Give good teachers the credibility they deserve -- they know what works and what does not. The status quo will not improve the behavior of children who really don't want to be in school. And it will result in many good teachers leaving the profession.

Nancy and Jim Litecky, Maplewood

More to the story

Kathleen Parker's essay on religious liberties and the Obama administration ("Practice what you preach, Mr. President," Feb. 12) was incomplete when she talked about The Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Yes, the case did come down to who the church names as minister, but the underlying case had to do with a claim filed under the Americans with Disability Act. A teacher was fired for hiring a lawyer to file a action against the church school board.

The case went before a federal judge in Michigan who found for the school. It was then appealed to the Sixth Appellate Court in Cincinnati, Ohio, which found for the teacher. Upon appeal to the Supreme Court, the court found for the church.

The upshot of this was parochial school employees are at the mercy of their church or school when dealing with their employers. It is possible for a church employee to be fired for reporting child abuse under this ruling.

Raymond Gorski, Stillwater

Experts and experts

Your Feb. 10, Page 1A feature (''Enrollment threatens exchange funding'' -- by an Associated Press writer) was instructive.

Fourteen states decided that their experts were smarter than the federal experts. For a while, it looked as though the states were correct. But now, the states' meltdowns parallel the federal meltdown. The causes and results were predictable & similar.

One predicted cause is low enrollment which threatens the financing of the exchanges. Also, the state and federal governments had their experts coordinating the fragmented efforts of many subcontractors. It is hard to coordinate what you do not understand.

One predicted result is that the exchanges, both state and federal, will be underfunded, and taxpayer costs will rise accordingly.

However, had we proceeded with the federal experts instead of our own, Minnesotans would have to pay for this only once.

Lyle W. Kratzke, St. Paul

Don't punish the victim

In 2013, the statute of limitations was removed by our state Legislature for victims to sue for sexual abuse that was done to them as a child. Victims can now bring a lawsuit against the abuser at any time. Attorney fees need not be paid up front, and can come out of the settlement. The Catholic Church is making headlines because they tried to cover up child sexual abuse by priests. If you are a church member, stand up with other church members and demand changes. If you feel ashamed of being a victim, do not be. Instead, do something about it, to lessen the pain and to recover. This abuse is a crime, and the abuser needs to be punished, not the victim. If anyone knows of a child being sexually abused, call the police.

Elmer Otto, Shakopee

Songs and data

In "Climate guesses," Feb. 10, the writer uses the lyrics of "Both Sides Now" to shore up his view that "it is not clear that our CO2 emissions are a serious global warming threat." Being a musician, I believe as much as anyone in the power of good song. However, when it comes to scientific principles and the thorough collection and analysis of data, I trust scientists. Ninety-eight percent of climate experts agree that climate change is upon us, as evidenced by more extreme storms, weather anomalies, melting of the ice caps, acidification of the oceans, etc., which will only worsen if we do not act. Some experts, like meteorologist Paul Douglas, use their notoriety and access to news sources to urge action.

Let's fill the opinion pages with columnists and letter-writers who address real solutions to climate change. Other civilizations have frittered away their opportunities to make changes to their benefit. Let's not fiddle while Rome burns.

Lisa Wersal, Vadnais Heights

Concerned about bullying

In an article on Sunday, Feb. 9, my state senator, Roger Chamberlain, stated that DFLers are trying to push a flawed law through the Legislature and calls the bill an unnecessary overreach that will harm schools. He says, "A lot of Minnesotans don't know about this bill; when we tell them about it, they are going to be concerned."

I, for one, am very concerned with the number of children who might have been spared the agony of being bullied if this law had been passed when it was first introduced. Last year, the GOP blocked the bill. And some of us were concerned when similar legislation was vetoed in 2009. Families of children who have committed suicide after being bullied are the most concerned.

Parents, teachers and monitoring cameras can't be everywhere to track bullying. Clear definitions and consequences included in this bill can help prevent it. To characterize the law as a burden to the schools without evidence is nonsensical. It will instead empower administrators and teachers when they are dealing with a bullying situation. Why else would more than 90 groups, including many teachers, be behind this law?

To those who think the cost of implementing the law is too high, I would ask: What is a child's "feeling safe" in school worth? What is the life of a child worth?

I don't know if opponents of the law have ever been bullied. I can't remember having been. But when children who are being bullied are skipping school because of it, and using their spare time to speak to groups supporting the Safe and Supportive Minnesota Schools Act, they deserve our attention and action.

Kathleen Ziegler, Lino Lakes