Need to focus on positive actions

May 6, 2020

We need to stop the rampage of fear that has overtaken our nation and our world. I heard a minister say the other day that when 9/11 happened an attitude of fear came into our nation. This pandemic has served to increase and feed that fear. Fear begets more fear. Fear is a paralyzing emotion, a negative, destructive thing. We need to follow guidelines that make sense but not in fear. God created this nation and has blessed it all these years. We need to start to think on that, a positive thought process. Be thankful for his blessing and protections. We need to do what positive things ...

National Nurses Day Wednesday

May 5, 2020

Wednesday is National Nurses Day and I would like to offer my sincerest thanks to all the work that you, as public health nurses, do every single day to ensure the safety of our communities and state. You are the unseen heroes who ensure the health of individuals in the places we live, work and play. In these unprecedented times, the challenging work you do is more apparent than ever. Public health nurses are on the front lines to tirelessly provide service to both internal and external customers. Thank you for your commitment to public health and for protecting your communities on a ...

Questioning the governor’s moves not ‘hindering’

May 1, 2020

“Those who hinder versus those who help,” the title of Saturday’s Speak Out column, is itself a sad commentary on an unnecessary dichotomy. The point made in Speak Out was, essentially (no pun intended), if you’re not for the stay-at-home strategy as concocted by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, you are against the health and safety of your friends, neighbors and community. The choice is either agree with the entirety of her decisions or be considered a reckless non-conformist at odds with health care workers, vulnerable at-risk people and even your own elderly family members. Why ...

Consider donating stimulus funds to others in need

April 27, 2020

Food and medicine: necessities of life. Like many others, this week I received a one-time stimulus payment from my fellow taxpayers. It’s nice. I might put part of it toward some needed home repairs. But had I not received it, I could still eat. I could still fill my prescriptions, and if I needed any other health care, Medicare would be there for me. In this life, blessings are not always distributed evenly, nor rained down upon equal circumstances. Many are out of work, have lost health coverage and have no money for medicines. If you are one of these, consider calling the Medical ...

In defense of Trump’s actions to combat coronavirus

April 24, 2020

EDITOR: This is in response to Walt Brey’s letter Monday, “Stop politicizing virus response.” People who take cheap shots at President Trump over the coronavirus are displaying their own ignorance. If Trump had listened to Dr. Anthony Fauci early on, he would have thought the virus was no big deal; instead, he stopped traffic to and from China within days of the first person testing positive in the USA. The left said he was a xenophobe and a racist for doing it. Trump called the fake news media a hoax, not the virus. Trump does not sign the checks for the relief fund, his ...

Remembering the bucktail bait

April 23, 2020

As a young lad, I was happy to have been able to spend lots of hours fishing and learning from my father because he was an expert fisherman. Sometimes he would drop everything and say, “Let’s go fishing now; the sun is the correct color and the air smells just right.” He would get the Martin 100 10-horse motor and put it on the back of the big, flat-bottomed wooden boat. I still have that motor, as it saved our lives several times. In the shed where the motor was, I had an ancient, really big bucktail hanging on the wall that I had never used. A thick, stiff wire ran through ...