Letters on smoking firefighter, YMCA at WSU, ACA, fake news, puppy mills

Firefighter looked more like a fire bug

Last Thursday, my wife and I drove to Hutchinson to watch the boys 3A state basketball tournament. We were both really impressed with all of the improvements to the sports arena.

After the final game, we left the arena about 9:45 p.m. We decided to go north on Plum Street to the Sterling cutoff. Even though it was dark, we could plainly see a lot of damage done by the wildfires.

We were about five miles north of the roundabout (10 p.m.), when three firefighting vehicles pulled onto Plum Street ahead of us. I slowed down; they were busy, and I wasn’t.

As we were following the third vehicle, the driver threw a lit cigarette out of the window. I could not believe it, but it happened.

My wife wrote down the tag number of that vehicle, but I will not reveal it at this time.

My question is: Do we have firefighters or fire bugs?

Praying for ranchers

I have activated our family prayer circle for the ranchers and veterinarians in Kansas. There is power in numbers, so about 100 prayer warriors are thinking of you. I will also get the circle going on Facebook.

No YMCA at WSU

We stand with the Wichita State University students in opposition to the proposed YMCA on campus (“Wichita State student government says no to fee hike for campus YMCA,” March 10 Eagle).

As both recent and longtime members of the Heskett Center on campus, we prefer the expansion and renovation plan designed for that recreation facility over the past three years. We were also surprised and disappointed by the recent termination of the Heskett Center executive director.

Depend on ACA

I would like to respond to some recent comments published here regarding people who benefit from the Affordable Care Act. Some misinformed people seem to believe that the ACA only helps those who are “freeloaders” or who choose to pay for luxuries instead of health insurance.

My wife and I have owned a small business since 2003. We raised two amazing kids, one of whom is in college and the other owns her own business. I’m a Type 1 diabetic, my wife has a heart condition. Prior to the ACA, neither of us could purchase insurance at any cost. In 2013, both of us were hospitalized, which put us many hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

With the ACA, we are able to receive the care and medications we need to stay alive. If the ACA is repealed, I won’t be able to afford insulin. So for me, this is effectively a death sentence.

There are millions of hardworking, productive people like us who depend on the ACA. But if you only care about cost, the bottom line is that having affordable insurance allows us to stay well. Without it, when we get sick we end up in the hospital and can’t pay the bill, so those costs get passed on to everyone through higher premiums.

Helping others sometimes costs a little more in the short term but in the long run we all end up better off.

Fake news is enemy

The left continues to get the facts wrong concerning fake news.

President Trump denounced the “fake news media” as being an “enemy of the people,” and many on the left ignored the word “fake” – either intentionally or out of ignorance. This includes many of the news outlets referred to as the “lamestream media.”

Decades of indoctrination by those on the left of those on the left have left many ignorant of the difference between fake news and factual news.

This is easily demonstrated by letters to the editor by those decrying Trump’s words without researching what he actually stated.

It always pays to educate yourself of your ignorance so that you’ll know what’s “right” instead of being “left” with fake news.

End puppy mills

Our local animal shelters and rescue organizations in Kansas are on the front lines every day helping animals.

To ensure these animals are safe and comfortable while waiting to be adopted, shelters and rescue organizations submit to unscheduled inspections from the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

Why, then, shouldn’t dog breeders in our state be required to submit to unscheduled inspections?

Currently, the operators of Kansas dog-breeding facilities, including puppy mills, get ample warning before an inspector visit.

The Kansas House has a hearing this week on amending the Pet Animal Act to eliminate this double standard. I urge you to contact your state legislators and tell them you support Senate Bill 47 with amendments.

It’s high time we close this loophole and rid our state of puppy mills for good.

This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 5:03 AM with the headline "Letters on smoking firefighter, YMCA at WSU, ACA, fake news, puppy mills."