Voice of the People - February 27, 2009
Piedmont ER aids woman with heart health
Women, please take care of your heart. As we come to the end of February, the month set aside for the "Red Dress Campaign" that puts emphasis on women's heart health, I'd like to relate my story. On the Saturday afternoon before the Super Bowl, I ended up at Piedmont's emergency room with chest discomfort -- no pain, just a little tightness that had not gone away with Tums. I next had chewed baby aspirin. Twenty minutes passed before I left with my husband for the ER. It was the very fact that the discomfort had not gone away that prompted me to go to the ER.
The ER was absolutely full! As soon as my husband told the receptionist my problem, I was almost immediately taken back to a room, and the necessary test was done to see if I was having a heart attack. I have not always been satisfied with our hospital, but I have to say the treatment I received was top of the line. Thank you to everyone at the ER at Piedmont.
Luckily, I had no blockages and was subsequently diagnosed with a very mild heart attack -- my warning to take better care of myself. Any chest discomfort that you have that does not go away within 15 or 20 minutes needs to be checked out. You, as a woman in our area, can expect the best of care.
Ava Howe
York
South Carolina needs the money
I normally do not write letters to the editor, but certain events involving South Carolina appearing in the news this week are cause for outrage. All reflect the hypocrisy of our senior elected officials and should disturb us all.
1) Our governor appears in a number of public forums to denounce President Obama's stimulus plan and claim South Carolina will not accept any funds. As a state, we will adjust spending to overcome budget shortfalls.
2) A young black girl from rural South Carlina is Mrs. Obama's guest at the presidential address to Congress. This young girl attends J.V. Martin Junior High School in Dillon. This school was cited by Obama during his campaign; it was part of a documentary film called "Corridor of Shame" in 2005 as one of many dilapidated and dysfunctional schools in South Carolina; and this week, it was featured in conservative columnist Kathleen Parker's column. But we don't need help!
3) Our governor plans to close several branches of the state university to save money. Leading the list is the campus in Lancaster. In addition to educating people, this campus is one of the largest employers in Lancaster, which already has an extremely high unemployment rate. But we don't want or need help!
4) Sen. Lindsey Graham announces a million-dollar grant from Washington for the Lancaster County Airport. Is the money coming from a different Washington than the governor talks about? Is money better spent on an airport no one uses than on schools? Are we going to attract air traffic from Rock Hill, which is about 15 miles away, or better yet, from Charlotte, which is about 30 miles away?
Will the governor be outraged if Washington, in an effort to to save money and cut taxes as advocated by both senators and the governor, decides to close Fort Jackson or one of the Marine bases? Or is that again different Washington money?
We, in this state, need to wake up. Our public schools are ranked among the lowest in the country. Our high schools have one of the highest dropout rates in the country.
It's high time our senators and our governor stop the political posturing and hypocrisy and reach out for help and focus on our schools, all of our schools. We do need help, and we do need money.
It couldn't be because the oldest and poorest schools in our state are populated primarily by minority students, could it?
F. J. O'Donnell
Lake Wylie
Everyone should be judged equally
I read where Sheriff Leon Lott said Michael Phelps would not be charged. I also read where the DUI charge against Councilman Paul Lindemann was dismissed. God only knows how many charges have been dropped against Doug McKown. Why do they keep putting his trial off? Why aren't these people charged like everyone else?
All men and women were created equal, so why do they have two sets of laws? If these people were just regular folks like us, they would have been in jail a long time ago. No matter how you look at this, it's not right to be judged differently.
If you can't trust the justice system, then what do you have? If you do the crime, then do the time.
Lee Satterfield
Great Falls
This story was originally published February 26, 2009 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Voice of the People - February 27, 2009."