Letters to the editor on food tax, Alzheimer’s, Putin and groundwater
Food tax
It must be election time. Something to ponder is this: Gov. Laura Kelly is making a lot of noise these days about the sales tax on food.
Funny how she wasn’t concerned about taxing food in 2010 when as a legislator she voted for the biggest food sales tax increase in state history, nor in 2016 when she failed to sponsor a bipartisan proposal to permanently eliminate the food tax, nor in 2019 when as governor she vetoed the food sales tax reduction the legislature had passed.
We sure can tell this is Kelly’s reelection year.
Alzheimer’s
I read with interest the opinion column written by Keith Vossel about first treatment for Alzheimer’s (First treatment for Alzheimer’s taught us some hard lessons, March 2 Eagle). I agree — that medicine, Aduhelm, is very expensive and we are not sure how effective it is.
I spoke to a neurologist here in town who says he doesn’t prescribe Aduhelm. They prescribe other generic drugs, such as Aricept or Exelon, depending upon patient’s condition. These drugs also do not cure Alzheimer’s, but they may help to delay progress of the disease.
As we all know an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. There are a few things we can do to prevent or delay progress of Alzheimer’s.
- Daily exercise: It will help to improve blood circulation throughout the body including the brain.
- Eat more vegetables and fruits including strawberries,peppers, celery, apples, bananas, oranges, and grapefruit.
- Get good night sleep
- Keep your blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and weight under control.
- Quit smoking
- If you have depression or anxiety, see your doctor.
Genius
In one week, Vladimir Putin has made President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a world hero, given a huge impetus to democratic movements everywhere, exposed the ineptness of the supposedly powerful Russian military machine, rehabilitated the reputation of American intelligence agencies, re-united NATO, tanked the Russian economy, made Russia a pariah state, brought two famously neutral Nordic countries (Sweden and Finland) on or near his border to the verge of seeking NATO membership, got the Japanese to send military aid to a European country, turned most right-wing American politicians into anti-Russians all over again, and given autocratic strong men everywhere a clownish image. As President Donald Trump said, he’s a genius.
Groundwater
Any resource taken for granted is a resource at risk of being lost. That is why the Kansas Ground Water Association, The Groundwater Foundation, and the National Ground Water Association will be joining hundreds of organizations across the country in celebrating National Groundwater Awareness Week, March 6-12. It is an annual week of awareness, education and advocacy focusing on one of our most precious resources.
Kansas depends on groundwater for nearly 40% of its public water. It also provides more than 94,000 private water wells in the state with fresh and clean water every day. The United States uses 79.6 billion gallons per day of fresh groundwater for public supply, private supply, irrigation, livestock, manufacturing, mining, thermoelectric power and other purposes.
For the over 250,000 Kansas residents who rely on private water wells, we encourage you to use Groundwater Awareness Week to test, tend and treat your private water system. An annual inspection of your well and its water can not only save you thousands of dollars in potential damages but can also protect the health of your family.
To find a certified water well contractor in your area, you can visit kgwa.org.
Whether it’s writing a letter to your representative, educating children on the importance of groundwater, or having your own water supply tested and treated, please remember to take time this week and help protect groundwater in Kansas!