Sunday, February 07, 2010
Assure access to treatment for mental illnesses
Letters to the Editor
Recent letters to the editor
- Letters: A home-school mom pays taxes, too
- Pick of the day: Home-schoolers reject public schools
- Pick of the day: Passing the buck won't stop abuse
- Letters archive
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
Assure access to treatment for mental illnesses
A recent commentary in The Roanoke Times, "Safety net is at risk" (Jan. 26), informed the public of conditions facing people with mental illness and the professionals providing their care.
Over the course of a lifetime, mental illness, a no-fault brain disorder, occurs in one of four people. Frequently, occurrences are treated and resolved.
Unfortunately, some suffer for a lifetime. People hurt. Families adjust and often rally in support of a loved one. Society must help some people. Cutting funds, thereby undermining intervention, is short-sighted and poor judgment.
Untreated mental illness causes lost work time and income. Mental illness with intervention increases a person's ability to work. Managed mental illness benefits the economy.
Untreated mental illness results in tragic instances of violence, including suicide and homicide. The recent mass murder of family members in Appomattox surely stemmed from mental illness. Southwest Virginia has the highest rate of suicide in the state. The relationship of suicide and forms of mental illness is well documented.
Virginia knows the tragic results of holes in a safety net. We will never forget April 16, 2007. I urge lawmakers on all levels to support wisely crafted legislation that provides access to manage mental illness.
Support America with sweat and taxes
When the colonists protested against England's rule in the early days of this country, they cried out for the right of representation if they were to be taxed. When independence was achieved, many people were surprised that they still had to pay taxes.
Today, taxes are still needed for our beautiful country to provide basic services we have come to expect, need and enjoy.
Our representative government needs active citizens. We need to vote. We need to pay the taxes. We need to strengthen our communities by volunteer work.
Be a Little League coach, help at the library, drive for Meals on Wheels, teach at a prison, give blood, run for office.
We all need to contribute our talents to help our country. We also need to pay taxes. Patriotism is more than saluting the flag.
The Times shows its class during snow
Hats off to The Roanoke Times during the second winter snowstorm. I was so impressed with multiple aspects of the newspaper this past weekend, from its delivery to its news coverage to Kevin Myatt's weather forecast. The Times continues to be a class act.
I fully expected to receive our Saturday newspaper with Sunday's due to the inclement weather. To me, this was a given, one that I completely understood. Imagine how surprised I was not only to receive it on time, but to read that the newspaper's deadlines were earlier than normal to prevent delivery delay. Thanks to all who worked so hard to make this happen, especially Gary Nuckols, our area's carrier. Many thanks for the solid news coverage, as usual, even with these earlier deadlines.
Finally, Myatt has become my go-to weather forecaster. While I have always read his Weather Journal on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I have checked his online blog practically daily this winter. I appreciate his ability to write in-depth about the weather in a manner that lay folks like me can understand and from which we may learn.
Thanks to all at The Times for this consistent, exceptional service.
Grammar criticism was unfair to athletes
I read with interest the letter to the editor "Athletes should know grammar" (Jan. 29). Several things sprang to mind.
The writer asserted, "so few athletes can put together a sentence without the words 'like' and 'you know.'" As an educator and coach for 26 years, I fail to see the necessity for singling out athletes. The use of these expressions is generational.
I can assure the writer that as young people adapt to adult questioning, the use of these expressions is common. I know many folks who spoke that way as youths and are quite successful in their careers today.
She tasks the coach to teach proper public speaking. Why? Why not the parent or any adult in the young person's life? For every example of improper speech, I can produce a dozen examples of eloquence in our youth.
She insinuates that using these expressions is a sign of illiteracy. That is insulting to young people, and athletes particularly. Illiteracy is the inability to read or write or the lack of any or enough education. Look it up.
Athletic Director Berkeley Middle School
Spending like there's no tomorrow
Hooray! Has everyone heard that the Senate just approved raising the national debt limit by $1.9 trillion? I'm not that smart, but I believe the increase amounts to about an allowable 15 percent raise in the debt ceiling over one year. Wow, I'm so happy that Americans have so much additional credit from foreign countries to spend freely.
Oh, wait. I just opened my credit card bill. Can you believe they actually want me to pay my bill? Hmm, I wonder what would happen if I didn't pay my debt? Would I be held accountable? What could really happen to me if I just skipped a few, or maybe all, payments -- just kept spending because the credit card company kept increasing my credit line? I mean, I really needed that bridge to nowhere.
Oh well, I don't care that my interest rate keeps going up each time I miss a payment; I'm still going to ask for increases in my credit limit and spend, spend, spend. My limit is just some imaginary number that my children can live with after I die. I mean seriously, if my government can do it, why can't I?
Who watches the utility watchdogs?
I read with interest The Roanoke Times' editorial "A political chill for a power company" (Jan. 31). In the past, I have felt that The Times has had three sacred cows: Carilion, Mark Warner and Virginia Tech. Today, Carilion seems to have been replaced by Appalachian Power.
There may or may not be good reasons for this. However, I feel that The Times has failed to fully explore the connection between political power, economic power and regulatory agencies.
This is brought out quite well in the December 2009 Harper's Magazine article "Understanding Obamacare." Although the article is about health care and not power companies, the parallels to the Appalachian Power situation may be significant.
To paraphrase an old saying, who regulates the regulators?
Rate increase will ripple through economy
Prices for all things will rise. Just take a few minutes and think about it. Keep in mind the elderly, the disabled, the poor and those who are already struggling to raise their families. Also remember that those on Social Security did not receive a raise this year. And now all are facing an even higher electric bill from Appalachian Power. Doesn't it care or even know how bad our economy is? Doesn't it know that this would put an even greater burden on the consumer?
From one company to the next, including health care and hospitals, they will pass the buck on to the consumer, raising the cost of living. Many more people will need government assistance, and the guidelines on these programs will need updating for the hard times this economy is in.
We are always looking out for other nations, and our government can't even take care of its own. Now ask yourselves if our government is for its own kind. Now you know why America is in debt.
