Middle Valley stands to gain
As a Middle Valley resident and someone who’s excited that our school, Ganns Middle Valley, is going to be rebuilt along with the possibility of a nice, new grocery store with a pharmacy, I’m trying to understand the opposition to improvement in our community. Middle Valley is a wonderful place to raise your family at a reasonable cost with schools that include parents who care. I am a resident, a mother and a grandmother. I want to see our area continue to gain new businesses and new jobs. The people fussing about the new grocery store are also the same people who never want tax increases and say that jobs are the answer. Indeed, new jobs and new businesses are what we need to keep our taxes low. Welcome to Middle Valley!
Kathleen Holloway, Hixson
Uninsured plagued with health fears
I know a woman who lost her medical insurance when she was laid off from her job. She couldn’t afford to pay for COBRA, her husband’s employer didn’t offer insurance, and although she tried and tried, she couldn’t find a job. Before being laid off, she and her husband were barely getting by and now, with only her husband’s income, their family hovered just above the cutoff for TennCare. When I met her, she was very worried about some medical symptom she was having. I tried to help her and she tried to help herself, but every attempt at obtaining assistance for this lady was unsuccessful. The last time I spoke to her, she was still waiting. Waiting until she was able to find a job. Waiting until her symptoms got so bad she would be forced to go to the ER. Waiting until her worst fears came true. She and thousands of Tennesseans without health insurance coverage worry every day that they are one diagnosis away from financial ruin. That’s why I think our lawmakers should broaden access to health coverage for low-income Tennesseans.