Jeanne Davies, Director An Update of the Proposed Toll Road I attended a meeting in Bennett the other day that I thought some of you might be interested in. The meeting was for landowners that would be affected by the proposed Toll-Road for the east side of Ft. Collins, Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The gentleman who is determined to build the road told the legislature last year that it would only affect 200 landowners. It has been determined that it is closer to 2000 landowners and they are angry that he thinks he can condemn their land and take it. The Governor has signed a couple of bills that will slow him down but may not stop him from going ahead with his plans.

In fact, the letter that these landowners received from the toll road company recently sounded as if he was prepared to begin his project soon. 300 landownders met in Bennett from surrounding counties to talk over their options. There were several legislators and elected officicials present who supported the landowners. The bills that were signed from this summer's special legislative session will make any toll road subject to the same rules and laws governing state road projects and will have to be approved by the Department of Transportation. There were also several laws and rules passed that concerned eminent domain and the taking of private property for a private toll road company. Recently I heard the Governor say that the laws they have in place will slow down any private toll road plans and he does not feel anything will be done for years on this particular road and maybe not ever. The Governor will be out of office at the end of this year and we don't know how the candidates for the Governaor's office feel about this issue. There was a public forum at the end of September with the candidates where the question about the toll road and rivate property will be posed to them.

Grassroots Policies

Many citizens wish to share ideas which could influence or lead to the creation of needed legislation. The opportunity for realizing that wish is available in the Grange. Every year Grange policies affect local, state and national legislation.

Resolutions expressing the viewpoints of members are sent to the State Convention, and if adopted become State Grange policy. Resolutions adopted on national issues are forwarded to the National Grange Convention for delegate action, and when approved become National Grange legislative policies.

WRITING GRANGE RESOLUTIONS

THE PARTS OF A RESOLUTION

• Each resolution is numbered
• Clear, concise title
•  State the problem in this paragraph. Do NOT express opinions - only supportable facts. Not the use of "WHEREAS," (capitalized) and semicolon followed by "and" at end of paragraph.
• This states a fact (not opinion) that causes the problem. Each fact (there may be several) is a separate paragraph. Note the use of semi-colon followed by "therefore be it."
• The RESOLVED states the action you wish to take. If there is more than one solution, tie them together with "and be it further resolved" using punctuation as before. Properly written, this section can stand alone - it will relate to the problem and action desired to correct it.

A SAMPLE RESOLUTION

Resolution No. 1

USDA Funds

WHEREAS, funds appropriated to USDA often give the impression to many people not associated with farming that these funds go directly to the farmer for his personal use; and

WHEREAS, many public programs such as school lunch, forest service, meat inspection and food stamps are federal programs funded by USDA; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Grange urge that USDA programs be separated and listed as to amount of money received and all other means be used to promote a clearer understanding between consumers and farmers concerning USDA appropriations.