Mailbag: 11/04

Blood drive enjoys success

Thanks to the donors who made the Red Cross Blood Drive on Oct. 30 a success with 132 pints of blood donated.

We also wish to thank St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and Alice Chenowith. We especially want to thank the volunteers who graciously worked together as a team to effectively put on the blood drive. The set-up crew from Kiwanis was Dick Matthews, Gene Frank, Jeron Jacobson, Derek Cowan, Brandon Wegner, Tara Zitzner and Jim McGann.

The take-down crew was John, Elizabeth, Michael and Jo Zipsie. Donor aides were Helen Grosinske, Joann Thayer, Rosie Cummings, Gwynne Peterson, Jean Smith. and Edith Fredericks.

Special thanks to Helen Ziegler for blood transport. Thanks to Marlene Waddell and Nancy Lindsey for registration. Kitchen crew consisted of Donna Brooks, coordinator; Crystal Hasheider, Barb Opperman, Gladys Orton, Ruth Nolden, Betty Wendt, Barb Meyer and Jackie Sprecher.

Special goodies were: Pint-for-Pint coupons from Culver’s, Red Cross T-shirts for those who came in costume, Preceptor Chi Chapter; Empire apples from Ski Hi, cupcakes from Dorothy Heath, cookies and bars from Ruth Nolden, and canteen food provided by Baraboo Rotary Club.

For publicity, thanks go to area churches, WRPQ, Baraboo News Republic, NAPA Auto, Cliff Rabuck, Mary Sauer and Tim Moy.

Gallon pins were earned by Kathleen Koenecke (1), Byron Tezlaff (11), Rodney Werner (13), Ann Robinson (24), and Paul Endres (21). Congratulations.

Due to the holidays, the next blood drive will be on a Monday, Dec. 28, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. Mark your calendars, bring your families and let’s make this a life-saving Christmas.

 

Al Zipsie, Blood Drive coordinator and Laura Moon, Blood Services representative, Red Cross

 

Let’s remove stress from BooFest

 

Another BooFest has passed, and I’m sure the kids had a lot of fun.

But I’m also sure there are many parents who breathed a sigh of relief when 5 o’clock came Friday evening.

See, once again the City Council decided not to close down the streets and once again the gridlock that is trick-or-treating overwhelmed many visitors to the Square.

That is something many of us parents have come to expect each year but certainly don’t welcome. What’s just as disturbing as the City Council’s vote against our children’s safety was the police officers who were present directing people to "stay out of the street." Unnecessary if a few barricades and flyers would go out, asking people to stay off the Square for a few hours.

It’s obvious to me that most of the people who make decisions to keep our children safe don’t attend this event where two-thirds of the people are children under the age of 11.

Thanks again for making BooFest more stressful then it needed to be.

 

Scott Dobush, Baraboo

 

Thanks to hosts of BooFest

I would like to extend a word of thanks to the Baraboo Public Library and Downtown Baraboo merchants for hosting this year’s "BooFest" Halloween activities.

It was nice to have the puppet show and additional activities this year in addition to the trick-or-treating.

The event provides a safe, fun family atmosphere which contributes to the nostalgic, small-town appeal of our community.

I am sure that the merchants, library staff and volunteers put in many hours to prepare and promote this event.

Let’s show our appreciation this holiday season by patronizing our Downtown Baraboo shops, eateries and service establishments.

 

Deb Nieuwenhuis, Baraboo

It’s time to wake up, America

Health Care Reform is still an issue for all of us. Last Oct. 8, 2009, I sent a letter to the editors of Spring Green, Baraboo, Richland Center, Dodgeville and Boscobel. Spring Green chose not to publish it.

I believe I am more honest than (most politicians) by admitting that I did not read all of the 1,018 pages. I did read and study enough to know the negative effects would far outweigh the positive ones. It seems instead of removing the negative, they have added 500-plus pages of some more political mumbo-jumbo.

The President and his promoters have said it will not increase costs and the deficit. Various entities of government have stated otherwise.

The same President and his promoters state it will not take away any coverage we have now. That does not seem to be accurate when the discussion includes cutting Medicare and Medicaid benefits.

They continue to refuse to give details on many of the issues. They seem to want to give this authority to some committee and/or person who will not be appointed until the bill is passed into law.

The basic necessities of life are food, heat, (energy, natural or man-made) and shelter. Without these we could not exist.

Insurance does not address any of these. Humanity existed thousands of years without insurance as we know it today. Modern man invented many things and ideas. Insurance is one of them.

Health insurance is not an inventory or wealth you can accumulate. It is a promise one party has made to another party for a certain amount of promised fees.

The purpose of forming any business is to create a benefit or profit. Profit is determined by spending less than the income.

Insurance companies promise to pay for stated risks for a given amount of premium (money).

Modern medicine and insurance do not create life or eliminate the end of life. They do help to make it less painful (in many cases) and to extend the time we will spend on this earth.

It is up to people as individuals, not as a nation, how and when to use the available resources. Government subsidies are part of the resources. Insurance should not be a government mandate. Subsidies can only be made available by some form of taxation, (use, value added, income or whatever you want to call it).

Wake up America. We are getting closer to being told how and for how long we will spend our life on this earth.

 

Herman Kaldenberg, Lone Rock