Letters to the Editor (April 8)

A top-notch bicycle infrastructure

I am writing in support of the bike path infrastructure that Wichita has embarked on in the past year. I moved to Wichita a little over a year ago and personally have never seen a community that is more bicycle and runner friendly.

As a registered nurse in Wichita, I feel that promoting public health is very important for the community. Promoting public health with safe running, walking and biking paths is instrumental for population well-being.

A recent study found positive evidence between older adult’s physical activity level and accessibility. When the accessible infrastructure was deemed safe and pleasing, the older adult population was more likely to exercise. In a time of increased technology use, it is even more important for safe environments to be available for physical activity. The running, walking and bike paths are making safe, physical activity possible.

The upcoming projects for 2018 will only enhance the bicycling community. The completion of the Andover-Augusta RailTrail, the Women’s Bike Summit at WSU, and the events to continue education for collaboration between bicyclist and motorist will deem positive results for public health. Thank you, Wichita, for providing such a great opportunity for healthier lifestyles outside our doors.

Attention on other teen deaths

Since 2006, 131 school-age children have died aboard buses involved in crashes. Only six states require seat belt on school buses. Result: no marches.

Each year an average of 12,000 school-age children are poisoned by prescription opioids, with 78 dying per day. The CDC reports that 70 percent of school-age children obtain them from friends. Result: no marches.

The leading cause of deaths among teenagers is accidental with the greatest portion of that coming from car crashes. Most involve alcohol or drugs. Result: no marches.

School-age deaths resulting from mass shootings make up 1 percent. Result: a nation brought to a standstill as the media and the political left scream at the top of their lungs for change.

How misguided are we when we focus our energies on trying curb the smallest fraction of school-age deaths when the vast bulk goes virtually unnoticed? That's insanity.

Want to help? Do something about the culture of drugs and violence that is so profitable and is crammed down the throats of children every day. And stop being misled by vote grabbers who care little about children but more about political opportunism.

Missing the point on demonstrations

Two recent letters in The Eagle (”Demonstrations attack founding fathers” and “It’s more than the weapon these days”) touched validly on the subject of gun rights, but were both skewed in their conclusions.

The first article accurately quoted the Second Amendment, which called for the right to bear arms to form a “well regulated militia.” But then went on to use the example of men trained to guard military prisoners. Those men, in most estimates, would fit into the definition of a “well-regulated militia.” That’s a far cry from any Tom, Dick or Harry who wants to walk in off the street and buy a military-style weapon.

The second article makes a statement that is the very symptom of moral decay the article was decrying. That “military weapons in the hands of the wrong people should be debated.”

These two articles sidestep two valid points that the teenage victims of mass shootings are trying to drive home: that not every citizen is trained or would qualify to be in a “well-organized militia,” and that if our legislators are only going to “debate” military-style weapons in the hands of the wrong people, then they’re part of the problem.

Hold McConnell accountable

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is stonewalling reform of sexual harassment policies in the Senate, saying he disagrees with requiring lawmakers to use personal funds, rather than taxpayer money, to settle sexual harassment claims.

American citizens do not pay taxes so that members of Congress can defend themselves for sexual harassment. The fact that McConnell wants to use the money of hardworking Americans to pay for this is morally reprehensible and abuses the trust and responsibility placed in him by the American people.

Women have been undermined, not listened to, and silenced by powerful men for too long.

I urge Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts to stand alongside their female colleagues and on the right side of history. As male Republicans, they should remind McConnell that women are simply asking for what they should have had all along: a clear, transparent procedure that is fair to everyone, including the taxpayer. Why should taxpayers have to foot the bill for an individual’s bad behavior?

On behalf of every woman who has a harassment story that was never heard, demand that McConnell take action and work to pass these reforms.

Green ribbons for organ donation

Time and time again, I’ve seen the lifesaving power of organ donation. I led the surgical team during Wichita’s first heart transplant in 1986, and I continued to help save lives through transplantation for many years. It’s what inspired me to serve on the governing board of Midwest Transplant Network, and it’s why I’m reaching out to the people of Wichita.

Nearly 500 people in Kansas — including 100 in Sedgwick County — need organ transplants. But only 62 percent of all adults in the Wichita area are registered organ donors. Our community needs more.

In association with National Donate Life Month (April), Midwest Transplant Network, the federally designated organ procurement organization serving Kansas and western Missouri, is launching the Green Ribbon Campaign to increase organ donor registrations in the region. Please join the Kansas Organ and Tissue Donor Registry at ShareLifeMidwest.com.

I’ll be wearing green on April 13, Green Ribbon Day, and I encourage everyone to do the same. Let others know you are proud to be a registered organ, eye and tissue donor. After all, one single organ donor can save eight lives and improve up to 75 more.

This story was originally published April 7, 2018 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Letters to the Editor (April 8)."