Editor's Note: On the matter of municipal scale certification dates

PELL HARBOR — A reader has asked why we publish the annual certification date for the Pell Harbor municipal scales, and whether this constitutes news.

The question is a fair one.

The scales, located behind the township garage on Marsh Road, have been certified by the state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on the second Tuesday of March since 1973. Prior to that year, certification occurred on the third Tuesday of March, a change made necessary by the retirement of inspector Harold Wendt, whose successor preferred an earlier schedule.

We have published the certification date every year since 1961, when the scales were first installed. The notice has appeared on page three in the County section, typically in the fourth week of March, following the inspector's visit but allowing time for the certificate to be posted in the scale house window.

In 2019, we mistakenly reported that the scales had been certified on March 12 when in fact the certification occurred on March 13. The error was corrected the following Thursday. Some readers may recall the correction also addressed the matter of the road grader's county of origin.

The function of certification

The municipal scales are used primarily during harvest season, when farmers bringing potatoes and sugar beets to the Pell Harbor Co-op require an independent weight verification. The scales are also used by the county road commission to weigh gravel trucks, by the township to weigh refuse vehicles, and occasionally by residents settling disputes over the weight of livestock, firewood, or other goods sold by the ton.

Certification ensures the scales remain accurate to within one-half of one percent, as required by state law. Without certification, weights recorded on the scales cannot be used in commercial transactions or legal proceedings.

Last year, the scales weighed 14,220 vehicles, a decrease of forty-seven from the previous year.

Why we publish it

We publish the certification date because it affects commerce in Pell Harbor and surrounding townships. A farmer planning to deliver beets in mid-March needs to know whether the scales will be available. A resident involved in a firewood dispute needs to know whether a weight measurement will be legally valid.

We also publish it because we have always published it, and because the scales are a piece of civic infrastructure that serves the community quietly and without controversy. Not all news involves conflict or change. Some news is the documentation of things continuing to work as they should.

The reader who wrote to us suggested that the certification notice could be reduced to a single line, or omitted entirely, to make room for other items. This is a reasonable suggestion. We will continue to publish the notice on page three in the County section, in the fourth week of March, as we have done for sixty-four years.

If the state changes the certification schedule, or if the scales fail inspection, or if the scales are retired from service, we will report that as well. Until then, the notice will appear each spring, typically between reports on road equipment purchases and township board meetings.

The scales were certified on March 11 this year. The certificate is posted in the scale house window. The scales are open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., except during lunch.

— D. Kaminski, Managing Editor