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Mercy’s character truly treasured
As a resident of Northeastern Pennsylvania for more than 45 years, I have learned from firsthand experience how much Mercy Hospital of Scranton means to this community.
My entire family was born at this wonderful institution. Similarly, my brother died less than two years ago after heart surgery at the age of 46. It was comforting to know he had the best care possible, with doctors and nurses who had the utmost experience in their field, as well as compassion for his health situation. This comfort was of extreme value to our family in dealing with our loss.
As a family, we also have felt the joy of birth, the trauma of accidents, the success of recovery and the sadness of death at Mercy Hospital. Experiencing these events is very personal. These situations are not just health care. They are the center of our lives as a community.
I am very concerned that the company that is purchasing Mercy in Scranton, Community Health Systems of Franklin, Tenn., possibly will do away with the spiritual aspect of the hospital and the compassion that comes along with being a spiritual institution.
As you know, Northeastern Pennsylvania is a deep-rooted religious community. The spirit of Mercy is an aspect that is important to me and to others, regardless of religious affiliation.
CHS seems to have a reputation of not honoring or respecting workers, as evidenced by the ongoing situation at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.
Many people in this community have friends and relatives who work at Mercy Hospital. I am hoping when Community Health Systems completes its purchase of Mercy Hospital, that it will do everything it can to work with Mercy’s employees to maintain the unique tradition and spirit of our community hospital.
The caregivers are not just employees. They are the fiber of the community.They have dedicated their lives to ensuring that Scranton has a hospital with the highest quality of care in the country. The staff always has been there for the people of this community when they needed it the most. As a community, we have to be indebted to their work and look out for their interests.
We need to make sure that this company maintains quality jobs and quality care for the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania now and in the future.
Much can be said about shovelers
I have a tendency to observe human behavior. For instance, I’ve noticed the behavior of snow shovelers. There are many different kinds of snow shovelers, ranging from the least energetic to the most.
The least energetic, because they don’t expect to be out there very long, will trudge outside in the very least amount of clothing, shovel just enough snow to waddle through a pathway, then run back into the house.
Another kind is the out-smarter. They will take their trusty broom in hand and, every half hour, sweep the stoop or walkway. They hold vigil all night, watching out the window and sleeping only when the snow has stopped falling.
Have you ever noticed the me, myself and I shoveler? This kind of shoveler has scads of energy, but only to solve his immediate problems. Shoveling snow onto other people’s walks or driveways is his specialty. Sometimes you see them with snow blowers, blowing snow onto the neighbor’s property, only to leave the neighbors in a real snow ball wondering how they will ever be able to clear a path to their car.
I have to hand it to the smartest shovelers of all. They don’t shovel any snow. They will wait until all have finished digging out their parking spots, only to move right in as soon as they leave. They’re the ones who have the iPods and hot cars, but don’t own a shovel. They kick the snow off their steps with their feet and watch their parents struggle while bringing in the groceries. The trouble is, that’s how they learned to be the smart shovelers in the first place!
There is one more type of shoveler. The one who is the first one out, and the last one in. The one who goes up and down the street digging out the neighbors and elderly just for the satisfaction of knowing he could be a blessing to someone else. He’s the guy, or gal, who carries the shovel in the car with him in case someone needs a hand if a car is stuck.
That’s the kind of behavior I really like to observe. That’s the kind of shoveler I point out to my children to watch and learn from.
It makes me think: I wonder who else in this universe is observing that kind of behavior?
Hunting makes this reader howl
Once again the self-proclaimed sportsmen have sought to kill coyotes en masse, all in the name of sport and conservation.
The hunting of coyotes should be tightly restricted to cases in which coyotes are attacking livestock, which is rare. These are natural predators trying to reset the imbalance caused by the actions of hunters in the name of game management.
For generations, hunters have disrupted the natural order by practicing game management, which they deliberately and incorrectly refer to as wildlife management or conservation. By implementing game management, the hunters, via the government wildlife agencies they control, create overpopulations of game species, which are a single-digit minority of the whole, to satisfy their lust for recreational killing. The hunters then pretend that this is a problem that only they can solve via their killing, excuse me, “harvesting” a set number of deer and other animals.
As noted in The Times Leader’s Feb. 7 article, a coyote hunter named John Bold make this assertion: “They (coyotes) need to be hunted to thin out the population. We hunt them nine months out of the year and there’s a lot out there. In some areas they are out of balance with the prey species.”
The coyotes are not out of balance with the prey; the prey, specifically deer, are out of balance with the ecosystem, all due to game management tactics.
In another publication, Pennsylvania Trappers Association District Nine director Bill Kalinauskis states, “They (coyotes) are responsible for fawn predation.”
Yes, the same fawns that will grow into adult deer and along the way cause tens of millions of dollars annually in damages to crops, landscaping, motor vehicles, timber and other properties. Mother Nature is trying to stop this damage by bringing coyotes into areas where they never existed before the implementation of game management.
These are also the same fawns that will become the deer “sportsmen” will seek to kill, especially the trophies, all while snowing the public that they are saving us from the marauding hordes causing the aforementioned damages as well as preventing starvation and disease.
Is it any wonder country’s broke?
I’m a Democrat who believes in the power of the federal government to actively manage the country. But when I read the government is about to raise the federal debt limit, my thoughts are, why not, just this once, insist on us living within our means? Cut back. Don’t borrow.
This brings me to an experience I had in our federal courthouse in Scranton some weeks back. Here’s what happened based on what I typed into my laptop at the time:
I am in the jury meeting room. I’m in between hearings, drinking a coffee, reading a magazine. It is a modern room, comfortable, carpeted, with many padded chairs.
After a bit, two women walk in from the jury administration offices. The two federal employees are laying carpet color samples on the floor. Apparently the carpeting is going to be replaced. But the existing carpeting looks fine. It’s apparent neither likes the present color. They want something that will add a bit more life to the room.
“Are you an attorney for the bankruptcy court?” one suddenly addresses me.
“Yep,” I say, in a neutral tone. I see this as my window to get more information.
“Ahh … getting new carpeting?” I ask, pleasantly.
“Yes … we’d re-covered half the chairs with a green floral … but now the floor doesn’t match those chairs.”
I then see that half of the 30-some contemporary wooden chairs in the room are covered in some flowery type green and the other half are covered in some reddish flowery pattern. This is a mismatch of federal proportions.
A few minutes pass. A third woman enters. They compare floor samples and comment as to texture, color, shading. No mention is made of price. The room is fine. It is a jury meeting room. That’s all it is. It doesn’t need tax dollars borrowed from China to be spent on it.
This little scene is being replicated all over the country, I presume. And that’s one of the reasons why the federal government is broke.
But this is nothing new. It’s called government waste and it has been around for decades. The problem, I guess, is that this building – this new twin addition to the old courthouse – is really a gorgeous courthouse. The courtrooms are bright and have all the latest gadgetry.
The offices are housed in rather luxurious settings. Is it any wonder why we’re broke?
Enough. It’s time we force ourselves to live within our means. Or some day, there won’t be any means.
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