YOUR AD HERE »

Your Letters

Post Independent
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado

This letter is in response to Ed Colby’s recent letter about the Canadian Health care System.

My brother, a pathologist, spent his whole career working in clinics and hospitals in the Fargo-Grand Forks, N.D., area. They were flooded with people from Winnipeg. People who came here to have tumors removed and post-operative care. People who would have died waiting for that in their own country. Now, what does that tell you about the government run Canadian health care system?

Jean Pristas



New Castle

Time out for a little experiment: (a) find your Medicare card (it’s wallet-sized, red, white and blue); (b) examine the red, white and blue side and notice that it says “Health Care Financing Administration”; (c) turn the card over and read the bold type about 2⁄3 of the way down: “property of United States government.” Oh, no, we’re being taken over by “socialized medicine!”



It saddens me that so many otherwise thoughtful people are being fooled by America’s big health care insurers and pharmaceutical industry. (Factoid: last year, the CEOs at the top seven for-profit, private insurance companies pocketed an average of $11 million in total compensation).

Most of us are pretty satisfied with our Medicare, though it doesn’t go nearly far enough and leaves many Americans out in the cold with no coverage. Why is it then that so many letters to the editor claim that our government can do nothing right (except make war)? It does well with our veterans health care, our Congressional health care and Medicare, all U. S. Government-run programs.

Jan Girardot

Glenwood Springs

Punch, the most outstanding string quintet led by Chris Thile, makes a five-piece band sound like an orchestra. Their talents are boundless. I have a special place in my musical heart for their creation and development of what I call “jazzgrass,” a combination of jazz and bluegrass. What a treat, can’t wait to see them again in January 2010.

Jay Leavitt

Carbondale

Did all of you see the article regarding ExxonMobil and the poor babies are having to pay for their by-product killing birds, etc? Well, I read the article and re-read it. It seems that it’s costing them $600,000 per animal. It only takes 20 minutes for them to make this kind of money.

You wonder why these gas stations are charging so much for gas – well, get a clue. The poor oil companies now have to shell out a little money. Can you just imagine 20 minutes of your day and making that kind of money.

This is what they made the first half of 2009. We just went over to Delta, and their gas is 20 to 30 cents a gallon cheaper.

Why are we paying these prices to these companies. What a ripoff.

Jane Spaulding

Carbondale

An open letter to the citizens of Glenwood Springs:

My husband and four children were in your town last week, enjoying the springs and bicycle trails, when our 12-year-old daughter went over the handlebars of her bike. She said she was looking at the beautiful river and just lost control.

The result of her fall was two broken wrists, a broken nose, two chipped teeth and various cuts and bruises. All of these injuries will heal perfectly, and I am very thankful for that. I am also very thankful for the people of Glenwood Springs. From Ginny, who took my other children so my husband could ride in the ambulance, to the people who stopped on the trail to give first aid. From the ambulance EMTs who took such time and care with a scared girl to the emergency room physician and nurses who were compassionate and so thorough in examining her injuries. You are all wonderful. My family truly appreciates your help and concern when we needed it most.

From a mom who was far away when her child got hurt, thank you.

Mary Ellen Dannenberg

Santa Fe

Anyone who wants to see what that area will look like once drilling begins should take a tour of Garfield Creek State Wildlife Area. I just did the other day.

This is a place where I have gone numerous times to hunt, hike or just enjoy viewing the beautiful scenery and wildlife. What I found this particular day was, first, four oversized haulers that nearly ran me from the road (but they did wave). Next was smoke and noise pouring from the hillside on my right. Then, a one mile trench dug through parking and access to hunting and hiking. Leaves and branches ripped from trees and all over the road. It all took my breath away.

Now I’m wondering, with hunting starting next month, who has the right of way? How many feet must hunters be from these rigs? Do they have their habitat stamps?

Diane Miller

New Castle

As a resident of Silt, Ms. Fish, you should be utilizing the curbside recycling program that Silt provides, not hauling materials to bins. Silt also provides bins during hours of operation at their town maintenance facility for cardboard and paper, which are dumped every two weeks.

If you live outside the town limits you have the option of taking your commingled materials to Glenwood Springs or Rifle.

Rifle bins are dumped once a week and are often at full capacity long before they are picked up. They often contain items that are not permitted inside of them that take up a significant amount of room. Rifle’s bins are provided as a recycling option to its residents. The city of Rifle does not stipulate who can dump materials in their bins, and I imagine that people who are not city residents are utilizing the bins and that is why they are overflowing.

In this economy municipalities cannot afford extra trips to the recycle center so bins can be dumped more frequently. Instead of limiting dumping to people in Rifle, the city is in the process of obtaining larger bins to accommodate the bulk of materials coming in.

In response to your question, I find personal responsibility is often the answer. I was able to obtain all of Silt’s recycling options in a three minute phone call.

I also encourage you to call Waste Solutions (Silt provider) or Waste Management (Rifle provider) for recycling options.

Erica Gentry

Rifle

In hopes of focusing some overdue attention on what I believe is our most serious long-term federal government problem, I am offering two undisputed facts (see http://www.usdebtclock.org) regarding our federal financial condition and posing a simple question to be considered. I hope that some of your more thoughtful readers, with a serious interest in restoring our federal balance sheet to a responsible and sustainable condition, will offer their expectations and preferred solutions to this monumental issue.

Fact 1. The approximate gross amount of accrued federal debt, including the present value of unfunded liabilities, as of August 2009 is:

borrowed funds: $11.7 trillion

unfunded liabilities: $58.8 trillion

total accrued indebtedness: $70.5 trillion

Comment: This is equivalent to approximately $230,000 for each American man, woman and child.

Fact 2. The estimated annual deficit for fiscal 2009, which will increase the accrued federal debt above, is approximately: $1.4 trillion

Comment: This is equivalent to approximately $4,500 for each American man, woman and child.

Question: How do you expect that deficit spending can be stopped and our exiting indebtedness repaid? Are you prepared to repay your share of the existing debt?

Hint: There are really only two choices the government has to prevent deficit spending and repaying the existing indebtedness: (1) reducing expenditures and/or (2) increasing revenues.

I will look forward to learning what the people want!

H. Michael Spence

Glenwood Springs

We need a better plan.

• We have 46 million Americans with no health care insurance.

• We are the only industrialized country in the world without universal health care.

• Yet, we spend $7,900 per American per year on health care. That is twice the amount spent by citizens of other industrialized nations.

We need a plan better than what we have. If we want it, then the Obama plan needs to pass. A call to the office of your congressman, John Salazar, (970) 245-7107 in Grand Junction, will help to make it happen.

Stephen Kuhn

Glenwood Springs


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.