March 4 Letters to the Editor

Thanks to many

We would like to thank Margie Mathers and Margaret Merrell, the two good Samaritans who came to my rescue Friday when my car ran over me. Thank God they were there and took quick action.

We just can’t say enough about Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue and Officer Kirk Wiper of the Kelso Police Department, Life Flight and the Trauma Center at Southwest Washington Medical Center.

Thanks also for the flowers, cards and prayers for a speedy recovery.

Dorothy Buell

Kelso

Glad to have helped

My daughter and I were going into the Kelso Safeway on the 20th of February. There was a lady mailing a letter. I noticed the car was rolling and she was trying to get to the driver’s side. She tried and then she stumbled and the car knocked her down and ran her over.

I took off running and got to the driver’s door and I opened it and jumped in really fast and pushed the break on. The car had already went over her torso area. I stopped it from going any farther. I got right on the phone and dialed 911 and the dispatcher started asking me questions. I answered her questions to the best of my knowledge. I squatted down and I rubbed her arm and I said they are on their way.

The policeman showed up right away and then the ambulance. They put her into the ambulance. The police asked a few of us our names, addresses and date of birth. My daughter and I stayed outside for awhile with a friend talking in disbelief of what just had happened.

The lady was Dorothy Buell. I worried all Friday night if she was OK. I’m glad I could help someone who needed help like Dorothy did. I’m so glad she’s OK.

Margaret Merrell

Kelso

Shelter offers protection

Donna Karhauser’s (Feb. 20) letter shows she knows very little of the real purpose for the emergency support shelter.

The reason women go there is because they need protection from an abusive person. I went there after having my life threatened; I totally believed he meant it. I also knew that on my own I would not be able to break free of the abusive relationship.

I had left numerous times before more than once threatened with a gun. I always went back because of promises or fear of making it on my own.

Being in the shelter gave me time to recover and get counseling. No one deserves to be abused physically, emotionally, verbally or sexually. I did get help in finding affordable housing and replacing all the essentials I left behind. More than that, through continued counseling, I have learned to see myself as a valuable person who doesn’t deserve to be abused in any way.

I don’t believe anyone would stay in the shelter if they felt they had other options. It is not about money, it is about feeling safe. I truly hoped that things would get better, but his continuous show of anger and lack of remorse shows me he doesn’t get it.

Today I am an advocate against domestic violence and have spoken on behalf of those who still feel trapped.

There is a way out, and the shelter is a safe place to start.

Dianne Karthauser

Kelso

School fails to protect student

This letter is in regard to the school levies for Longview.

Our daughter, now eight, went to St. Helens Elementary School from mid-kindergarten through first grade. During her first-grade year, she suffered. She was coming home with softball-size bruises and missing shoes. We endlessly reported it to school officials.

We dropped her off at school for breakfast one morning and sat in the parking lot and watched her walk to the gym door. As she got to the door, a fifth-grade girl said nothing to her and just punched her in the face. About three days later she came home and said she was starving. She said a third-grade boy at breakfast and lunch had knocked her tray out of her hands onto the floor. The staff told her she could not have seconds. When we questioned the office, they said they just don’t have enough food, so our then 7-year-old daughter went a whole day without eating.

When we filed an inner-district transfer for her, it took us threatening to call the police for their failure to protect our child before the principal would agree to the transfer. We thankfully have moved into Kelso. If we still lived in Longview, we would vote no, because any school that does not protect the children in it has no right to have a levy or community support.

Jennifer and Jeff Pollard

Kelso