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Letters
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- Written by: Renee Griffin
I want to tell you a story about my best friend, who died May 27, 2009. I promised myself that I would tell this story over and over tell someone acknowledges my letters.
On May 27, 2009, at 8:30, I received a call from my best friend and she told me she was having problems breathing. I told her to call 911 and she told me she did not want to, but to go to her home and pick up her room mate, Mark.
I rushed over to her house and found she was not there, but was on the phone again and wanted us to meet her some where on Highway 16 (Yolo County) I must admit that I thought, well, maybe it is not really all that bad if she didn’t want to call 911.
I went home and put on clothes and shoes, combed my hair, etc. Went back to her home, picked up Mark and he said, “She wants us to meet her at Cache Creek Gas Station across from the casino on Rt. 16.” I told her room mate that it was a 50-mile drive and it would take at least an hour or more, and we were on our way.
Bonnie had went to the Bay Area to visit a friend and her daughter met them as well. She was on her way back from this visit when all this happened.
When we got to her there were firemen and police everywhere. We told the police that we were here to pick her up, but we could see she was receiving CPR. Police told us that the firemen had to break the window to her truck to get her out. I asked how was she and they said she was in critical condition. Her roommate and I went to the hospital (which took thirty minutes) and gave as much medical information as we could.
Then, just what we didn’t want to hear – “I’m sorry, but your friend Bonnie has passed away.” The doctor came out and talked to us and said they did all they could and so did the firemen, but she had probably died when they got her out of the truck, but still had some signs of life.
She was 62 years old and would have been 63 on Sept. 11. You see, she didn’t want to call 911 because she had no medical and she sought out her friends to help instead because of the expense of the emergency room. The cost could vary from $800 to $1,00 and that cost Bonnie her life. A few more years and she would have had Medicare!
These are the stories that are happening to the pre-elderly and the elderly and may others. We live in a country that people do not care about us any more, and that is more than sad.
In the real world where we (the people) live the system is just falling apart. I have Medical and I have had my check cut twice and I guess we shouldn’t have help for our eyes and teeth, they have cut that out for us too. I’m a diabetic, and where do I do?
Renee Griffin lives in Clearlake.
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- Written by: Rob Maloney
While Sen. Patricia Wiggins is supporting rural broadband access and extension of Indian Gaming Distribution Funds, she sponsors a bill that halts suction dredging.
The impact of this legislation will be devastating to Sierra County, the poorest county in the state, whose economy relies heavily on tourism, especially gold miners.
I am not a resident of Sierra County; I do not have an interest in a gold claim, or run a gold dredge. However, our family has vacationed in Sierra County on Forest Service land since 1964.
Early Californians, especially miners, committed heinous crimes against Native Americans in search of wealth and power. One must ask themselves, how “they” could have committed such atrocities.
Ironically, Sen Wiggins is perpetrating an economic crime on small business and on the poorest people in the state, the residents of Sierra County, while being praised in Lake County and other counties which have Indian Gaming.
Perhaps modern miners had it coming to them for their predecessor's deeds, or perhaps Sen. Wiggins' bill is just quid pro quo for Indian gaming campaign support.
Rob Maloney lives in Encino.
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- Written by: Chris Nowak
I copied the following off a White House Web site (www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/ ):
“There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to
Clearly, President Obama and the people he employs put in place a method to gather information on people whose ideas, writings or even casual conversations disagree with the administration. This absolutely goes against every principle of liberty and freedom which our forefathers paid so dear a price beginning at Lexington in 1775. Our senior citizens should recall the neighborhood informant networks of Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler. Today, North Korea and communist China operate extensive local spying organizations to crush dissent.
That any agency of our government should even begin to dabble in these oppressive techniques demonstrates an utter disregard for the foundation of our Republic and contempt for every freedom-loving American who dares to speak his mind. Take a minute to call or write our elected representatives and let them know about this turn of events.
No doubt I’ll be on the list of subversives tonight along with Ben, Tom, Sam, John and George, to name a few. Of course, that’s the company I’m honored to keep.
Chris Nowak lives in Kelseyville.
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- Written by: John Pavoni
The uses of the ARRA funds are extremely restricted; they can be used for building improvements and/or the purchase of medical and dental equipment. Historically, there have been very few opportunities to make improvements on our facility; MCHC will be using our funding to significantly expand our women’s health services department, Care for Her.
While ARRA funding does help with long-overdue improvements, it does not provide any support for the operations of our center. We find it somewhat ironic that the federal government is willing to improve our facilities while state government is cutting reimbursable services. This reality puts our centers in the position of being more dependent than ever on local donations to help meet the day-to-day health care needs of local people.
We can only hope that an achievable solution for the national health care problem will emerge. Right now, community health centers like MCHC are the backbone of local health care. With growing numbers of uninsured children and adults, declining state reimbursements and more restrictive eligibility standards for basic health services, we will continue to need the support from our generous community.
John Pavoni is chair of Mendocino Community Health Clinics Inc., which serve Lake and Mendocino counties. He lives in Clearlake Oaks.