Officials thanked for neighborhood work and other letters to the editors

Officials thanked for neighborhood work

We would like to publicly thank our city councilman, Ken Smith, along with City Attorney Wade Hinton and Ken Fritz with Mayor Andy Berke's office for their help resolving a neighborhood issue. We had an 8-year-old problem with an unsightly lot at the entrance of our subdivision. Collectively, these gentlemen worked together and allowed our neighborhood homeowners association the opportunity to purchase and clean up the eyesore. It is refreshing to see our Chattanooga city government leaders working together to help improve our community.

MIKE AND DEBBIE BROWN


Readers needn't take words so personally

To David Cook: Your "Beg Your Pardon" column was a courteous response to those who take umbrage with your words, and it was decent of you to acknowledge their complaints. And yet, I feel it is today's readers who have forgotten the purpose of a newspaper when they take words found there personally. Newspapers -- good ones like the one we're so fortunate to have in Chattanooga -- inform. To do this properly, they are diligent in making sure their facts on events and issues are accurate. But they also do their readers the greater service of presenting varying perspectives and viewpoints for consideration. Hopefully, this broadens citizens' understanding, so we can live in community by finding common ground where we can and respecting our differences where we can't.

PATRICIA SANDERS


How about affordable coverage and pay?

If your recent newspaper articles about possible termination of the Erlanger/UnitedHealthCare contract hold, citizens with this insurance should make sure to use another hospital or have an attorney to advise them of insurance changes. Otherwise, they could receive a huge bill for the health costs their insurance won't pay. Locally, thousands have become bankrupt for not understanding policy loopholes. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on advertisements on Fox News and conservative radio to say our private pay system is the best. To believe anything else would simply seem unpatriotic. Citizens in other nations puzzle over our personal bankruptcies and financial hardships because many don't have the right insurance in a system twice as expensive with worse outcomes overall. Wanting affordable coverage for all and requiring all to pay a fair, affordable portion of their income would render one an Obama-loving socialist.

JOHN F. EARY, Ringgold, Ga.


Celebrate solidarity of blood donations

I was deeply moved by the letter which appeared in the Sept. 14 issue of the Times Free Press by Najia Humayun of Tunnel Hill, Ga. That Muslims for Life members have collected so many pints of blood in the past three years is testament to the impact of their solidarity with Americans. The 33,350 pints of blood donated for their blessed efforts would not have been given otherwise. Indeed, we should all regret the lack of publicity this movement has received. The issues of ensuring adequate blood supplies and achieving the reality of brotherhood are profoundly combined. The rendering of blood product sharing is a joy whatever the motivation. Please give now!

HARRY GELLER

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