Viewpoints

To the Editor:
In 2011, the Healthiest State Initiative was formed to help Iowa become the healthiest state in the nation. Each year since, we’ve held an annual walk to renew our commitment to this extraordinary goal.
 This year, the Healthiest State Initiative and the State Fire Marshal Division are combining efforts to keep Iowans safe and a bit healthier. We are encouraging Iowans to “Walk at the Whistle” as part of the fifth annual Healthiest State Walk and National Fire Prevention Week. Walk day activities will include coordinated fire drills and walks for schools and businesses  Wednesday, October 7.
 Delta Dental of Iowa is pleased to sponsor this year’s walk. Our mission is to improve the smiles and health of Iowans. By combining physical activity and taking care of your dental health, Iowa can continue the momentum towards becoming the healthiest state in the nation.

To the Editor:
I see Mr. Engle is still crying over spilled milk, everyone who knows anything about politics knows that one of the very first things that the governor did when he was elected was cut the Iowa school budget and school lunches. Mr. Engle should be investigating his own party and governor to make sure everything they do is nice and legal.
Mr. Quandahl sure tries to blame this country’s downfall on the liberals and a couple of black ministers. But as anyone knows, or should know, our great downfall really started with one-time Democrat and one-time Catholic Ronald Reagan, who switched religions and parties when he divorced his first wife and divorce was very much against the Catholic church laws; and the borrowed 14 trillion dollar Iraq War by a Republican president, George W. Bush.
There are many, many reasons why Reagan should have been impeached, a great president he was not.

To the Editor:
Just over seven weeks ago I told my husband if I didn’t come home from Urgent Care, I would be at the bottom of Mother River.
Trust me, I am not bitter about the fact every time I saw a medical professional they told me my tests were fine. Despite the fact I always mentioned having a cystic ovary removed on my right side as a young woman, the pain I experienced on my left side was consistently attributed to minor digestive concerns.
Please take note, sisters: ultrasounds, pap-smears, blood tests and x-rays do not indicate the presence of ovarian cancer. Frequent complaints about back pain and bowel irregularities will also fail to yield a timely diagnosis. In my case only a CT skeptically ordered by an Urgent Care doctor, on what I thought was the last day of my life, confirmed abdominal irregularities consistent with ovarian cancer.

by Dick Schilling, Editor Emeritus

To the Editor:
Iowa families are needlessly losing sons, daughters, mothers and fathers to overdose deaths. In 2013, nearly 100 Iowans died from opiate overdoses - a sharp increase over the last decade that has yet to receive an effective response from state leaders.
 An individual dying from an overdose can linger for hours. While there is often enough time to get help, the fear of criminal prosecution discourages other people from calling for help. In addition, opiate antidotes can dramatically slow or reverse the deadly effects of an overdose. Unfortunately, it is illegal for non-health care workers to possess or provide this drug to overdose victims.
While we should do more to prevent opiate addictions through better public education and drug abuse treatment, we must do more to save lives now.

To the Editor:
I was at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting discussing ATV usage within Allamakee County when a comment was made about the lack of a trauma center within Allamakee County. At that time, I started thinking it is time for some updated education to the citizens of Allamakee County. When it was published in the paper, it definitely confirmed the fact that education is needed. Being in the healthcare field probably makes it easier for me to understand but hopefully others will understand after finishing this article.

To the Editor:
56th District Representative Patti Ruff on 1 September wrote one of her “info-commercials” in the Waukon Standard in which she blamed the Republican Party for the state of funding for Iowa’s schools. Then she blamed Governor Branstad for vetoing a bill which would have provided one-time funding for area schools, but which had no provision for sustainability.

To the Editor:
We got it. Thank you to the politicians who remind us repeatedly they have the right to call people names, make derogatory references to the female anatomy and that being incredibly rich allows them to say anything they want.
Unfortunately, this has resulted in center-stage appearances in front of millions of viewers where the American public is sliced and diced, including their own political supporters. The result is not a debate, it’s a single serving over-priced plate of left-overs.
Freedom of speech, or outrageous spending? We got it, now what are we going to do with it?
It’s just me, but if I have to swallow caustic comments delievered by fish lips I would prefer them lightly breaded, deep fried and not greasy.
Thank you very much.

Ann Althoff Gallagher
a.k.a “Catfish Annie”
Waukon
 

Dear Waukon Residents,
I am looking for historical information on my 1967 Ford F-350 truck with 240 I6 manual transmission. I have been told the box was custom made in Waukon and the box has the original maker plate on the side. I am just the second owner and it only has 19,986 miles on it. If anyone has any information and would like to share, please email me at mekcbs54@gmail.com. I can also email you pictures.
Thank you.

Sean Cormican
Baraboo, WI

To the Editor:
I guess we will all agree that we are, as a country, in a pretty serious mess - cops and law officers being vilified and even murdered, and some of our top government people even seem to promote it. Jackson and Sharpton, both so-called ministers and each have love children, have become very rich by promoting unrest and distrust, and both are big liberals. Question: how can any right-thinking person agree with them?
We are now in the process of deciding who will be our next president - can anyone lead us back? We need an honest, sincere leader, like Moses who led the Jews out Egypt. As honest as Moses was, he still had his trouble makers.
Before we can become the nation we used to be, respected all over the world, we need to become a moral people who hold the Ten Commandments and the Bible in high esteem. Our crime rate must decrease, illegal drugs must be condemned.