Letters to the Editor

Chronic illnesses

We are told the economy is now the number one domestic issue in the United States.

For a long time, it was health care. Presidential candidates and policy makers seemed to be getting serious about addressing the critical problems in our health care system.

I am one of the millions in the United States who suffer from a chronic disease. Those of us dealing with chronic diseases like mental illness, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and asthma are finding it harder and harder to keep up with the health care we need to survive unless we address the cost and delivery problems in our system.

Health care is a quality of life issue, but it is also a serious economic issue. A recent study by the Milken Institute says that the annual economic impact on South Carolina of the most common chronic diseases is nearly $17 billion. And that's just a small fraction of the $1 trillion estimated for the U.S. as a whole. Worse, if we do nothing to fix it, that number could reach $6 trillion in just a few decades.

The truth is that we won't fix the problems in our economy unless we fix the problems in our health care system, especially the costs of long-term and expensive care for chronic diseases.

DAWN FAHERTY

Short River Court

Mount Pleasant

Shingles vaccine

Shingles is an extremely painful and debilitating disease that strikes a million people each year, and about 50 percent of the cases occur in seniors over 60 years of age. Anyone over the age of 60 who has had chickenpox is vulnerable.

The chickenpox virus remains dormant in the body and manifests itself as shingles when the immune system weakens. A painful rash appears anywhere on one side of the body and the misery from the rash and neuralgia may last for weeks, months or even years. Once you are susceptible, shingles may reoccur.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends anyone over the age of 60 receive a vaccination to prevent shingles. The rub is that Medicare does not cover the cost of the $200 vaccination. If the CDC recognizes the urgent need to prevent shingles, why doesn't our health care system help seniors avoid the pain and misery from shingles?

Medicare and the nation's health care system should accept the vaccination's cost and begin a campaign to encourage the vaccination of all persons over 60. With millions receiving the vaccination, the vaccine's cost would be driven down and millions of senior citizens would benefit.

GEORGE W. EATON

Back Court Road

Isle of Palms

Power mix needed

I read with interest the April 8 letter to the editor titled "Sustainable power." At Santee Cooper, we are serious about renewable energy. Solar, hydroelectric and landfill gas already serve a key role in our current energy mix, and we are the only utility in the state that generates renewable energy. We are adding many new renewable, conservation and energy-efficient projects as we work toward our goal of creating 40 percent of our generation by 2020 through non-greenhouse gas emitting sources and biomass fuels, and through conservation and energy efficiency.

I agree with the letter writer that renewable energy resources must be pursued. But they aren't enough to meet the amount of power needed in the future in South Carolina. South Carolina is different from the writer's example of California in many ways. For example:

-- Solar — We would need to cover the entire state of North Carolina with solar panels to get the amount of solar power our customers need. The cost would be five to six times higher, making a $200 monthly power bill over $1,000 a month. And it only works when the sun is shining. There is a good bit of cloud cover in the state and, of course, no sunlight at night.

-- Wind — it takes about one acre of land per wind turbine to generate 15 kilowatts of electricity (1000 kilowatts equals 1 megawatt.) We need 835 megawatts by 2015. How many acres of land are we willing to clear in our beautiful state to install wind turbines, which only work a third of the time due to limited technology? And these, too, only work when the wind is blowing, and are much more expensive. The letter writer cites the Cape Wind project off Cape Cod. What he did not note is that the Cape Wind project still does not have a permit to operate and has been held up for more than seven years due to issues.

The question of how to best meet the state's growing energy needs is a complex and important one. We have a responsibility to ensure that the lights stay on and are affordable so we must look to other sources of generation to ensure those needs are met as we continue our efficiency, conservation and renewable energy efforts.

Building new power generation facilities of any kind is not easy, even with the highest and best environmental control technology such as those that will be used at the new Pee Dee plant.

It is by doing all we can with renewable sources and conservation, and by building base-load generation facilities that we will ensure a low-cost, reliable power supply for our two million direct and indirect customers in the 46 counties of the state.

JAY HUDSON, P.E.

Santee Cooper

Moncks Corner

Orphans with us

April is Child Abuse Awareness Month. I invite all Post and Courier readers to ponder the word "orphan."

The word perhaps conjures up images of "Little Orphan Annie," or from a time long ago in our history. Certainly these images are not from today, you think.

Just as an orphanage is more likely to be called a shelter or a youth home, the word "orphan" doesn't seem to be used today. Is it because there are no orphans anymore? Or is it simply politically incorrect to utter the word? According to at least one organization that serves children in the tri-county area, Lowcountry Orphan Relief, there are orphans in today's world.

The sad truth is that children throughout our region are being abused, neglected and abandoned. These children don't necessarily fit the conventional definition of an orphan, but they suffer from all the physical and psychological traumas of an orphan.

The word has its origins in the Latin word "orphanus," which means "without parents." Let's think beyond the literal interpretation of the word and the usual association with death and think why children come into the care of the Department of Social Services. These parents are separated from their children because of substance abuse, domestic violence, untreated mental illness, abject poverty, sexual abuse, physical abuse and a host of other reasons. These children are without parents, and there are no assurances that they will be reunited with them.

Regardless of the reason, a separation occurs between these children and their parents. Sometimes the separation has occurred prior to DSS involvement, and sometimes it occurs afterward due to restraints against contact and so forth.

Nevertheless, the separation results in feelings of loss and further compounds the emotional stresses for these children.

Lowcountry Orphan Relief, Inc. (LOR) has identified a very elemental but unmet need among this "unseen" population. LOR steps in not only with clothing, toiletries, school supplies, books and teddy bears, but most importantly, it fills the gap by providing these children with the certainty that there are those who truly care about them. It has often been said that actions speak louder than words, and the volunteers who work countless hours at Lowcountry Orphan Relief's Children's Closet speak volumes and the children hear.

Let's make every month a time for addressing the needs of all the children in our community.

LOIS DANE RICHTER

Assistant Director

Guardian Ad Litem Program

Lowcountry Orphan Relief, Inc.

Bradburn Drive

Mount Pleasant

Saddened by views

In reference to the letter to the recent article titled "Wright or Wrong":

As a Roman Catholic, I was saddened to read the reaction of one Catholic to the church's dogma concerning artificial birth control and abortion. It is a pity that even some of our own fail to understand the profound beauty of this doctrine, which originates in the love and preciousness of human life.

Jesus never said it would be easy to be a Christian. In fact, quite the opposite and that the church is to be "a sign of contradiction in this world." Modern rationalists and relativists deny humankind's transcendence.

To understand the true freedom that comes with all that human love was meant to be, I invite people to read the church's views, which are available through many documents on the Vatican's website vatican.va/.

MARY L. SVENDSEN

Summers Creek Court

Mount Pleasant

Bees Ferry landfill

In response to the writers who believe that those of us who have bought property recently on Bees Ferry Road near the landfill have done so knowing the expansion plans of Charleston County Council:

The primary point is that the intent of this landfill was always to receive construction waste, not household refuse. Construction material does not have the potential problems that household garbage carries, especially in a state that does not require separating glass, paper and metal for recycling as strictly as do other states.

Even with liners, landfills have been known to leak, which creates more health and environmental problems, especially through hazardous air emissions such as methane gas.

Another concern is the amount of traffic from large refuse trucks that will be going to the landfill on Bees Ferry, which is a two-lane road. We are anticipating the extension of the Glenn McConnell Parkway, which will increase the traffic and pollution. It is difficult to understand why Charleston County would want to position a landfill in this densely used area. Long Savannah, Bolton's Landing and additional homes in Hunt Club subdivision will bring in more residents who are looking for a high quality of life, along with the current homeowners in the area.

Yes, we did purchase our homes near a landfill, but the new 165-plus foot mountain of trash was not proposed when we bought here. Household refuse was not being received when we purchased our homes, and our quality of life was not being threatened when we chose to live here. There were not any public meetings held on this issue, which is a point that is grossly overlooked.

So, to those who think we should have known that we had a landfill, we did know. We just did not know the county would decide to cheapen the lives and property values of its citizens — a decision that flies in the face of the vision held by Mayor Riley for this part of the city. He designated this area a "greenbelt," which will help protect the "delicate Ashley River Corridor."

Somehow, I don't think a trash pile almost the height of the Cooper River Bridge roadway qualifies.

Do our county and city officials converse?

LISSA BLOCK

Hawks Cay Court

Grand Oaks Plantation

Charleston

No jogging strollers

I have been to Charleston for the Bridge Run for the past three years and have enjoyed each trip. Traveling from North Carolina each year has become a ritual. The city puts on a great show, and the race is second to none.

However, when I pulled out The Post and Courier's special race edition, I was a little upset. There was a picture of a couple pushing their grandchild in a jogging stroller. These vehicles are not allowed in the race, a fact that is announced over and over again. They are dangerous for runners and the occupants of the strollers.

It may have been a cute picture, but the paper is promoting people breaking the rules, and that is a shame.

STEVE DAVIDYAK

Hidden Creek Circle

Hickory, N.C.

On and off ramps

How bad do the on/off ramps to all downtown overpasses and bridges have to get before anything is done?

At normal speeds, my car is lifted off and dropped back onto the highway, leaving it not "happy" and great big scratches on the road.

I pay taxes and do not expect this at every bridge. One day, Charlestonians will wake up and replace the infrastructure.

SCOTT JOHNSTON

Wappoo Road

Charleston

Defy stereotypes

It was refreshing to read that younger evangelicals are defying the stereotypes of the "Christian Right" by making poverty and the environment a higher priority than values regarding abortion and gay rights, which are more typically associated with their politics.

While members of this new generation have not abandoned traditional values, they do seem able to understand that there are personal choices they can make as individuals about abortion or gay unions.

That "right of choice" should be jealously guarded and should not be abolished as a result of the zealous righteousness of others.

Poverty and protecting the environment are different matters all together. They affect us all. We will all suffer for our cavalier approach to the stewardship of our planet — rich and poor, all religions, all ethnic groups, and those who care and those who don't.

Poverty, as Gandhi is reported to have said, is the worst form of violence.

These are issues with real meaning that deserve our unified attention and action. There are very few of us with the resources of a Bill Gates or an Al Gore to have any real effect on these problems as individuals.

There truly are choices about poverty and the environment that we can and must make together, which can have a positive affect on everyone. These are choices that don't preclude anyone's rights.

SKIP CRANE

Seabrook Island Road

Johns Island

Let dogs play

On my regular afternoon walks down Rutledge Avenue, I like to stop at the old Museum Park to watch the dogs play. I was very sorry to learn that (off leash) dogs have now been banned from the park. This was hard to understand.

The dogs are quiet and well behaved, their owners clean up after them, they give pleasure to many people, including this old lady.

And most importantly, there is nowhere else for them to exercise off the leash.

I was told that some children had been frightened. Now it is certainly distressing news that a child has been frightened, but I can propose a solution.

Since the children's play area and the dogs' play area are distinctly separate, a fence could be built to enclose one or the other.

I suggest using some of the money the city has saved by not repairing our sidewalks (which I really believe to be the worst in the civilized world).

I hope others will join me in protesting this ban.

PATRICIA H. FARROW

Rutledge Avenue

Charleston

Railway for port

The State Ports Authority and Charleston area residents would be extremely wise to heed recommendations of the April 5 letter writer about the use of a railway as the primary mode of transporting shipping containers into and out of the Navy Base.

I fully agree with and endorse his recommendations based on experience with traffic congestion in Long Beach, Calif.

If you have never been in daily rush-hour traffic in Long Beach, you have not experienced a traffic crisis. Vehicles sit on entrance ramps to an interstate for up to five minutes each for traffic control lights to grant one-at-a-time vehicle access onto a six-lane highway, only to stop again at the merge point and then to move in extremely slow traffic for miles.

Charleston is enclosed by industrial and residential developments much like Long Beach, where the streets, roads, freeways and interstates are filled with rush-hour traffic, and roadway expansion is extremely expensive and almost impossible because of land inaccessibility and the encroachment of industries, businesses, homes and apartments.

The best solution is to move shipping containers by rail to an off-site area for transshipment. This also should speed up ocean vessel loading and off-loading.

J. R. STOWE

Department of Energy

Engineer (Retired)

Sparrow Drive

Isle of Palms

Vaccine symptoms

I have recently lost my beloved Blue Point Siamese, Jesse. What started as a normal trip to my veterinarian, ended in the loss of life for my companion and best friend.

By state law, it is required that an animal receives a rabies vaccination yearly.

If, after receiving the vaccine, your pet develops symptoms such as vomiting, itching, swollen eyes and does not act like itself, you should seek help immediately.

Pet owners should be aware of the signs and symptoms and know that, although a fatality is extremely rare, it can happen.

AMANDA STEWART

Midland Parkway

Summerville