Letters to The Editor 1/11/2021

By: 
Press readers

Another threat
To the editor: With the human toll from the coronavirus surpassing 300,000 lives the release of the vaccines comes none too soon. Hopefully they can be effective preventatives so things might return to normal.
However, there still remains a huge threat to public health and public safety that, according to Centers for Disease Control figures, cost the lives of 480,00 Americans last year. The World Health Organization website lists worldwide deaths from it at "more than seven million people."
In the United States, by CDC estimates, $170 billion per year is spent annually for direct medical costs associated with it. Lost productivity amounts to $156 billion.
The threat of its danger has initiated some mandates, though education and prevention efforts on a federal level, especially focused on children where it all begins, have historically been underfunded.
The CDC is the only federal agency to provide direct funding to all 50 states for education efforts about its danger. Ohio's share amounts to less than $28,000 per county.
Absurdly enough a portion of our economy relies on its existence. And most disturbingly, money provided by the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and distributed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently subsidizing this killer.
"It" is tobacco.
Randy Kania
Curtice

Strong support for
wreath program
To the editor: As the organizer for Wreaths Across America for Lake Township Cemetery, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Lake Township and surrounding communities for their overwhelming support again this year.
The monetary support from business and individuals was outstanding. I also would like to thank the approximately 70 volunteers and staff from the cemetery who helped place over 1, 200 wreaths on veteran's graves.
This was the fifth year and each year that amount has increased with my goal to eventually cover all 2,300 veterans buried in Lake Township Cemetery.
Again, thank you.
Jeff Pettit
Wreaths Across America
Coordinator for Lake Twp. Cemetery

Apartheid and algorithms
To the editor: Today I seek to share an idea for algorithms. We need two algorithms; one for the 333,000 who are deceased from COVID-19 and another one for President Trump. I truly think that we have been forced to see the majority of the elected Republicans who supported the concept of election fraud as morally contaminated scrofulous characters.
They morphed into racial psychopathic personalities, with little to no spiritual consciousness and blatant hypocrites whose constituents have received “taxation with no representation” during the Trump Administration.
Another algorithm, urgently needed is one for our military personnel, like decorated Army Special Forces member Duke Webb, accused of killing three civilians in a Rockford, IL., bowling alley. Webb had served four “tours” in Afghanistan – so he probably is suffering from PSTD.
As a veteran of the Vietnam era and now the coronavirus war, I believe like the rest of us – civilians and veterans – Webb is suffering from Post-Traumatic Coronavirus Stress Disorder (PTCSD).
The Trump Administration, like the Veterans Administration, does not want to address the fact that a third of our society’s mass shooters are veterans. If one is cognizant of Lt. Col. David Grossman’s “Killology Papers,” one will comprehend that infamous Army veteran and domestic terrorist, Timothy McVeigh (see Oklahoma City bombing circa 1995) fits the description of a mass killer.
Additionally, in my opinion, it is time to acknowledge - as the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates did - that “the three tiers of racism – systemic, cultural, and impersonal…pose specific barriers to quality medical care and good health.” Moreover, the AMA should encourage President-Elect Biden to write a plethora of Presidential Executive Orders to address how too often doctors and hospitals have been practitioners of Economic Apartheid to the black and brown persons in America.
The various layers of Economic Apartheid have profoundly revealed this by the numbers of black and brown victims who make up the daily body count killed by COVID-19.
Heed the words of Galatians 6:2 – “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Clarence Gafeney, CEO & President The Institute on Economic Apartheid, Armed Services Chair NAACP Executive Committee – Toledo Branch

Kettle help
To the editor: The Elmore Unit of the Salvation Army would like to thank Richard Harman, of Woodville, the Elmore Kiwanis, and all our volunteers for faithfully standing by our kettles.
We collected $ 7,342 from the Elmore and Woodville communities. This year we disbursed $4,094 to our friends in need. If you have a need for any assistance please contact Sharon Arndt.
Also, thank you to all who donated money and bought gifts from the Angel Trees in the Woodville and Elmore libraries.
This year our Angel Trees served 21 families, including 50 children.
Janice Netcher
Treasurer

A clean world
To the editor: Pollution is a big problem, not only in the United States, but around the world.
In fact, about 10 percent of all plastic made in the world ends up in the ocean. In addition, the effects of plastic pollution are very bad; the harmful toxins from the plastics get into the environment and causes harm to the plants and animals. And even humans are affected by this. Plus, it is easy for animal like a fish to choke on the plastic and die.
Not only plastics but also carbon monoxide has an immense effect on the environment. For instance, 21.3 billion tons of carbon monoxide is burned in the air from fossil fuels per year. The United States alone uses 25 percent of the world’s resources such as coal, oil and natural gas. Also, the fossil fuels that we burn create carbon monoxide that causes greenhouse effect.
Even though the United States only has about 5 percent of the population in the world, we can still make a difference and set an example for the other countries to reduce their pollution. Some alternatives for energy would be solar, wind and water, which I know is already happening, but the United States can still encourage the public to recycle a little more. Also, we can take a different approach to the way the public is informed.
In conclusion, I think we should focus on the issue of pollution a lot more to keep the world clean for the next generations.
Egan R. Bolander
Graytown,
Member of Boy Scout Troop 316

Forever grateful
To the editor: As our 2020 Red Kettle Season began, just like everything else in our 2020 COVID-19 world, we did not know what to expect.
Since we were not able to host our traditional and annual Kick-off Breakfast to kick off the excitement of the Red Kettle Season, we opted for the “virtual invite,” inviting all past bell-ringers to call our office to schedule their bell-ringing times. As the weeks went by, we came to the realization very quickly that we were not able to find as many volunteers to fill the 1,565 hours of bell-ringing as we had in past years, due to COVID-19 issues involved.
So, how did we manage to, not only surpass our $69,000 2020 goal, but surpass it with an all-new record probably- never-to-be-seen-again high of $100,175.62?”
The Ottawa County Salvation Army has the “A-Team Advisory Committee” and an equally determined and strong-willed community – a fine outstanding group of community members who stepped up to ring the bell in the cold, rain, sleet and snow while smiling and singing through their masks.
We saw a young widow dropping off a $100 bill just a few days after her husband passed, because, “he loved
you and what you do, he would want me to do this.”
We have donors who would call, text, email or message me to let me know that they were on their way to Walmart or Kroger and would be dropping their donation in the bucket, or that they were on their way to our office, just to hand me a donation to be dropped into the red kettle, because they “just didn’t know what to do this year, or how to help.”
When an anonymous donor reached out and offered to “match the last four days of bell-ringing, up to $5,000,” there became a domino effect of matching, as Nancy Russell, a long time bell-ringer who has always matched her Red Kettle two-hour bell ringing total every year; and Mercedes Wise of Miss Mercedes Gift Shop, in Marblehead, who rang the bell during the matching week and also matched her two-hour of bell-ringing total.
In Ottawa County, there is a human desire to share out-of-the-ordinary experiences with others, and I feel this creates the larger-than-life community that we live in.
Sometimes, there just aren’t words to describe an event that you first-handedly witnessed and slightly orchestrated. For me, the 2020 COVID-19 Red Kettle Season was the phenomenon I will only witness once in my lifetime.
I am, and will forever be grateful to each and every one of you who touched any part of this event, including my “A-Team,” Toni DeLuca, Amanda Whitt, Connie Drummond, Pam Courtney, Anita Gribble, Melinda Company, Cynde Kelsey, Linda Willis, Bonnie Kasper, Janine Dress, Deb Flora, John Stookey, Rachel Grifith and Sharon Cochenet. Each and every one of you has had a part in this once-in-a-lifetime event by putting others first and making a difference in our community and, ultimately, in our world.
You embody our motto – “The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”
Maureen M. Saponari
Director. Salvation Army
Port Clinton Service Center

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