In closing remarks at a recent daily briefing, Vice President Pence assured the nation, “We will heal our land.” This was a faith affirmation and assurance of a cure.
Hope and healing are central issues in our life and death. Our nation is experiencing pandemic of which there is no cure. Faith and hope are fading away. Religious people have locked the church doors in fear of this pandemic.
Some people think that God is playing a role in this natural disaster. Others disagree on what God’s role is in COVID-19. Still some believe strongly that God works out a divine plan in which diseases and destruction are a part. Others think that doctors and science are the only saviors of our nation through this tragedy.
While death and disease are growing, there are great differences of opinions over what role God plays in both our great tragedy of sickness and our return to health. I find comfort in these words of hope and confidence in, “We will heal our land.” Maybe because we trust in God.
Amos Taj
Ooltewah
Trump’s inaction will cost too many lives
America, are you watching? The president’s incompetent. For two months Trump showed a delusional response to the coronavirus saying: Go to work if sick, it’s a hoax, you can get tested. All false claims, like Nero fiddling as Rome burned. This delay will have deadly consequences.
The U.S. intelligence community’s worldwide threat assessment in 2018 stated, “a novel strain of a virulent microbe … specifically a coronavirus continues to be a threat.”
Again, they warned in January 2019, “The U.S. will remain vulnerable to the next outbreak leading to massive deaths.”
The outbreak was first documented in December, but the president resisted the advice of experts and opportunities were missed. Further, he allowed John Bolton to dismantle our NSC’s Global Health Unit. This caused chief scientist Dr. Luciana Borio to leave the NSC and go to the Wall Street Journal calling for widespread testing and beefing up hospitals.
Trump responded: “No big deal, everything is going to be great.” Epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch of Harvard said, “This was foreseeable months ago, and the White House was in denial.” Thank goodness, finally, president Trump is listening to the health experts.
Wilbourne C. Markham Sr.
Signal Mountain
Don’t fear a swarm; it’s going to leave
The unusually warm winter is prompting an earlier-than-usual swarm season for our local honeybees. Normally we start seeing swarms in April, but the Tennessee Valley Beekeepers Association has already started getting calls for this annual event. Swarming is the natural process of hive reproduction for bees.
Swarms, which could come from a feral hive or beekeeper’s hive, will land almost anywhere after they first leave a hive. They often gather into a ball in a bush or tree but could just as easily be on a front porch. They are typically docile because they have no hive to defend. And a swarm will usually leave its initial landing spot within 24-48 hours once scout bees locate a permanent hive location.
If you see a swarm, don’t call an exterminator or take matters into your own hands. Wait a day or two and the swarm will leave. Or call the TVBA hotline at 423-619-7238. One of our members can come and take it away, usually for free. For beekeepers who capture swarms, it’s a wonderful time of year.
And in this COVID-19 era, you don’t have to be anywhere near the beekeeper.
Brian Hamilton
Tennessee Valley Beekeepers Association