Opinion articles provide independent perspectives on key community issues, separate from our newsroom reporting.

Letters to the Editor

Letters on Russia scandal, public health, ACA, comics

First get to bottom of Russian scandal

As a person who loves our country, I believe we must get to the heart of the Russian scandal that compromises all else that comes from the White House.

Until it is thoroughly investigated – including a special prosecutor who will not run to the White House to share supposed leaks with President Trump, like the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., did – no major proposals from the president should be voted on by the House or Senate.

We know Trump staff members have met with Russian officials, and evidence points to Trump having considerable financial operations in Russia and owing debts to Russian creditors. These allegations, this evidence, must be fully examined by a credible nonpartisan investigator.

Kansas Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran should be among the first senators to call for a full investigation prior to action on nominees. After all, they did not push for prompt action to hear nominees for judgeships for the past eight years, and for nine months they denied a hearing to the moderate justice nominated by President Obama, even though no international scandal hung over that president.

Trump should not be allowed to make any lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court until these questions are answered.

Gretchen Eick, Wichita

Working for us

What would Wichita and our region be like without the efforts of our public health workforce? We would have air quality like Beijing, lung cancer rates like Hungary, cholera like the Sudan, and water lead levels like Flint, Mich.

Yet, we do have public health problems in Wichita: perchloroethylene groundwater contamination, some of the lowest childhood and adolescent immunization rates in the nation, and black non-Hispanic infant death rates that are among the highest in the country.

This is not the time to shrink from our societal responsibilities to work for the health of the public.

April 3-7 is National Public Health Week. Take a few moments to thank the health professionals and elected officials in Sedgwick County and the state of Kansas for their many successful public health efforts and encourage them to keep working on behalf of all of us.

Rick Kellerman, Wichita

Department of Family and Community Medicine

University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita

Improve ACA

I am so happy that the American people get to keep the Affordable Care Act – especially low-income Americans, which happen to be some of my own family members. Republicans and Democrats need to work together to improve the ACA. Maybe the failure of the GOP plan will be a wake-up call.

I believe the ACA is a stepping stone to our future, which will eventually lead to a single-payer plan.

Sondra Luke, Wichita

Bring back comic

I can not believe The Eagle traded “For Better or For Worse” for a silly talking cat comic. Really? Talking animals again? Please don’t do this.

Shelia Orange, Wichita

Letters to the Editor

Include your full name, home address and phone number for verification purposes. All letters are edited for clarity and length; 200 words or fewer are best. Letters may be published in any format and become the property of The Eagle.

Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Wichita Eagle, 825 E. Douglas, Wichita, KS 67202

E-mail: letters@wichitaeagle.com

Fax: 316-269-6799

For more information, contact

Phillip Brownlee at 316-268-6262, pbrownlee@wichitaeagle.com.

This story was originally published April 1, 2017 at 5:04 AM with the headline "Letters on Russia scandal, public health, ACA, comics."

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