Chaplaincy a real blessing
Saturday, March 22, 2008 6:16 AM PDT
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E-mail this articleChaplaincy a real blessing
I commend Leslie Slape on the outstanding article about the Cowlitz County Chaplaincy.
I was a firefighter with Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue for 28 years. The calls that Sheriff Mahoney mentioned in the article - the two children who died in a house fire on Coal Creek and the father who accidentally shot his daughter, I was at both of those calls. As Mahoney said, we had to suck it up and move on.
When the Chaplaincy started 25 years ago, it was a real blessing having them respond on difficult calls. They are always there to care for the family and friends of a loved one who had died. On one of those calls, I was hugging a mother who lost her baby to SIDS and she was understandably hysterical, when Chaplain Loney walked in. I was never so happy to see someone in my life. Not only did he help the mother, he also helped me and the other firefighters who were there.
We have seen people of all ages die and the Cowlitz County Chaplaincy has been there to help every emergency agency.
We can't thank Chaplain Lyle Prather and all of his helpers enough for being there when we really needed them.
I have to say God bless the Cowlitz County Chaplaincy.
Gary Ingalls
Longview
No to negative change
Those of us who opposed the proposed liquefied natural gas plant are not opposed to change, only negative change, like the decline in shipping on the Columbia River. It would damage one of the most important marine estuaries on the West Coast. LNG leaves a big carbon footprint because of the fuel needed to liquefy it, ship it and return it to its gaseous state. LNG promotes continued dependence on foreign fuel.
The large LNG pipeline affects many people's back yards, many waterways and the most fertile, productive, farm land in the Willamette Valley, land that is prone to earthquake damage.
Who comes out the big financial winner? NorthernStar, of course. Stack the loss of the land and home value, shipping, farming and fisheries against a few permanent jobs gained.
How much faith should we have in government and big business? Already the FERC has stepped in and given NorthernStar exemptions from local construction permits, city ordinances and shoreline permits.
Let's say no to LNG and negative change.
Melanie Schaures
Castle Rock
The coming depression
Well, Theda Williamson (March 13 letter) is a little confused. There is a depression coming. During the last one people had to stay armed to keep from having their food stolen, I am told by my elders.
The point of my letter is this: Wake up and smell the coffee. This Depression, as was the last one, is definitely the fault of the Republicans. Or hasn't Williamson noticed the run on our Treasury they made to have their global wars of choice? Does she not understand yet that the perpetual fear for perpetual war is all for perpetual theft of resources from weaker nations? How long will it take before Williamson realizes that Republicans do not consider people as citizens? They label us "consumers" and treat us like peasants at forced labor.
Bill Clinton was certainly not the best thing since Rice Krispies in office and he did a lot wrong, but he did not rob the Treasury. That seems to be the habit of the party of the greedy: Republicans. They even made up their first financial lie in 2000, calling the sudden drop of faith in our economy the "Internet bubble" instead of what it truly was: those who know the nature of Republicans pulled back their financial activities and began to dig in for hard times. The selection of George Bush is what destroyed our economy.
Syndi Bay
Kelso
Unnecessary pain
A recent article in The Daily News caught my eye claiming that certain insurance companies refuse to pay for anesthesia during colonoscopies. Only two days prior I had undergone a routine colonoscopy - to my shock and horror - without anesthesia. "If our health insurance is that crummy, we'll switch to another provider," my husband fumed. So I called the doctor's office to see if my own insurance company was the culprit.
But a surprising twist waited for me at the other end of the line. "It's not your insurance company's decision here," said the nurse. "We don't think anesthesia is 'necessary' for colonoscopies." Stunned, I asked, "Have you ever had one?" "No," she said. "Believe me, it's painful," I told her. "Oh, you're one of those patients who wants to be knocked out from start to finish," she quipped.
The insult stung. I am not a wimp, having given birth to three children without anesthetics. She was missing the point. I felt I had suffered unnecessary pain and trauma, but worse, I didn't have to and my own family doctor never explained to me that I had a choice. So, for all of you fellow middle agers out there preparing to schedule the dreaded colonoscopy, make sure your insurance company and your doctor provide for anesthetics.
Susan Taylor
Longview
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