Letters on KanCare expansion, child abuse, climate change, concealed-carry, distracted drivers

Project Access part of solution

A single male who works as a restaurant cook, a single mom who works as a hairstylist, a married couple who own a small business.

What do these people have in common?

They don’t qualify for Medicaid (KanCare) and can’t afford health insurance on the open market. And Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act) refers them to the state Medicaid program, for which they aren’t eligible because Kansas has not taken the opportunity to expand the program in our state.

Solution: What seems to be a well-kept secret is that more than 600 physicians in our community, 13 dentists, local hospitals, pharmacists and many other providers have organized under a program called Project Access to provide donated health care services to these patients not served by any other means. Project Access’ resources are limited. As a board member of Central Plains Health Care Partnership/Project Access, I’m asking our governor to expand KanCare and asking our local community to more fully support Project Access.

We see you

April is National Child Abuse Awareness Month. As an organization dedicated to fighting the sex trafficking of minors and adults, ICT S.O.S. sees this issue as one of the most horrific forms of abuse in our culture.

What we also see is a dedicated network of professionals, volunteers, community members, donors and faith communities working tirelessly for our city’s children.

To the officer who gets called back in after an already long day to take a case where a child has been harmed in unimaginable ways: We see you.

To the social worker who holds that child’s hand and offers them a snack and a toy to cuddle as they begin to heal: We see you.

To the advocate who connects hurting families with resources for food, shelter and safety: We see you.

To the volunteer who sorts donations, answers a hotline or mentors a teenager: We see you.

To the donor who supports services for prevention, intervention and healing out of their own pocket: We see you.

To the members of a faith, business or school community who choose to educate themselves and become more aware: We see you.

And to the healing survivor, most of all: We see you. We see that who you are is not defined by what you have been through. We see that you have immeasurable worth.

We see that as a community, we owe every child the chance to grow and flourish with safety, dignity and opportunity to become whatever they choose.

Disaster to us

I was not surprised to read the comments from Sedgwick County Commissioner Karl Peterjohn regarding carbon dioxide (“So they said,” April 5 Now Consider This). Of course, Peterjohn is nowhere near a scientist. But I thought as a scientist I would point out some facts, because he doesn’t use any of them himself.

The average American will put about 900,000 pounds of carbon into the atmosphere in their lifetime. None of that comes from breathing. The reason breathing causes no net carbon dioxide to be placed in the atmosphere is because the carbon we breathe in is equal to the carbon we breathe out from consuming the plants that we eat. This is a closed loop.

This is not true when we burn fossil fuels. Fossil fuels have been stored over millions to hundreds of millions of years, and it’s the carbon from burning them that is the problem that is producing climate change.

If Peterjohn does not acknowledge climate change, that’s his problem. When we as voters place people like him in positions of power, we are giving away precious days, months and years to our future and our planet. He is a disaster to us.

Sarcastic jokes about breathing will not restore the health of our planet when it is gone.

Teach quick draw

Now that we will have concealed firearm carry for all, the places that used to offer concealed-carry classes for the permit can now teach quick-draw classes and not lose any money.

Put away phone

As a cyclist, I am seeing far more dangerous drivers – those looking at their phones while driving. Last week a young woman was driving the wrong way on Second Street at I-135. She U-turned right in front of me; I’m sure she did not notice me on the road.

While we were stopped at the light, I told her to put away the phone. She yelled back that she was lost and trying to find directions, as though this made it OK to operate a 4,000-pound vehicle while being distracted as well as frustrated. I suggested she pull over and turn on GPS, but she pulled away and continued to drive erratically (sharp left turn without signal).

I see this epidemic of distractedness, especially while stopped at lights. Young women in particular feel that’s the perfect time to use their phones. Meanwhile, the light has changed and they are still lost in wonderland. Please, for the safety of all of us, put away the phone.

This story was originally published April 8, 2015 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Letters on KanCare expansion, child abuse, climate change, concealed-carry, distracted drivers."