Unfettered Letters

Sympathies to family and driver

My thoughts are with the fire truck driver going on a call, as well as the family of Obarimomoya Nkani, the boy who was killed as he tried to run across the street (3/3, Local, “Tragedy on student’s walk home”).

Any driver is subject to this chilling prospect. Children have to learn to avoid unsafe acts. But no matter how often they are cautioned to “be careful,” they are tempted to try to beat their better judgment.

Anyone who has watched “America’s Funniest Home Videos” on TV knows adults also lapse into childish thinking and bad examples. Only experience, instruction and example in being cautious are learned as one grows older.

To kill an animal running into traffic is a soul gripper, but to kill a child must be almost beyond solace.

Marvin Goodman
Lenexa

Leave MAST as it is

I read with interest that the firefighters’ union wants to assume control of MAST ambulance (2/25, Local, “It’s the KC fire chief’s turn”). In this economy, it is completely reasonable to seek out opportunities to save money. I am confident there are plenty of them in Kansas City’s budget.

MAST is unlike many city-supported operations in that it is directly involved in saving lives and providing high quality health care services. From what I have read in The Star, it performs well as is. City leaders would be well advised to be very careful in tampering with one of the few city-supported services that performs at or above expectations.

A better and likely safer option would be for the fire department to tighten its own belt, concentrate on what it does best and leave MAST to take care of our emergency medical needs.

Patrick Tuohey
Kansas City

Nuts to FEMA

Unless you have been living in a cave recently, you have heard about the salmonella-contaminated peanut products. Despite all this widespread coverage, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent 168,000 emergency meal kits containing peanut butter to Kentucky residents following a devastating ice storm there (2/6, A-2).

Although residents were eventually warned not to eat the peanut butter, FEMA officials were obviously asleep at the switch. Can FEMA ever do anything correctly?

Jane Toliver
Leawood

Emergency workers save blood delivery

I would like to publicly thank the staff of MAST Ambulance Service, the Kansas City Missouri Police Department and Fire Department for going above and beyond the call of duty.

One of our staff members was transporting blood products on Dec. 16 and became seriously ill and could not carry on with his deliveries. A call was placed to 911, and they responded very quickly.

The emergency responders were notified of the location of the vehicle and took the keys to Fire Station 43, which happened to be one block away.

The mission of the Community Blood Center is to provide blood that meets the needs of patients, physicians and hospitals. We take our role as stewards of the regional blood supply very seriously, and those mentioned above helped us carry our mission on this occasion.

In addition to the life-saving services these individuals provide on a daily basis, many of these public servants are also regular blood donors and save even more lives in our community.

Because of their quick response and helpfulness, our staff member was helped and the blood was retrieved and delivered to the hospitals in time for the patients who needed it.

Pat Parton
Director of distribution and hospital services, Community Blood Center
Kansas City

Thank you, emergency workers

Every day I read the Letters page of The Star,  to read eloquently expressed opinions, whether negative or positive. At times, I’m guilty of both. This go-around, it’s for the positive.

I have a few friends and acquaintances on both sides of the state line who work for one of the many local police departments. This time of year, John and Joan Q. Public don’t show much appreciation. Like everyone else, we’re all wrapped up in the hectic holiday season.

This statement goes out to all police officers, firefighters, medics and EMTs: Thank you so very much for the profession you chose!

C.N. Howard
Overland Park

Thank your emergency workers

Words cannot express the gratitude I have for the paramedics and fire department of Olathe.

On Oct. 15, my daughter was having seizures from eclampsia and struck her head. When her husband found her she was seizing and barely breathing. He called 911. Within minutes, the emergency workers were at the door.

After my daughter was released from the hospital, we took a thank-you note and some cookies to the station. They were pleasantly surprised by the treats but more surprised to get news of her recovery.

If you have used the emergency services of your city, stop by and let them know how much you appreciate their service. It will make your day and theirs.

Ricki McCauley
Olathe

Cass County deputies get a big thank you

On the morning of Nov. 30, while driving my son to KCI to catch a flight back to college, I had the misfortune of sliding out of control on some black ice on an overpass on northbound 71 Highway just south of Belton. By some miracle, neither my son nor I were injured in spite of driving through a guardrail and into a steep ravine.

I would like to thank deputies Thompson, Shaffer and Grow of the Cass County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance. Within minutes they were on the scene, responding competently and professionally to our crisis. The deputies made sure we were physically OK, got us out of harm’s way (four more cars slid off the same bridge in the following 20 minutes), secured a tow service, called MoDOT to treat the bridge and placed themselves in harm’s way trying to slow down oncoming traffic. We should all sleep better knowing these professionals are looking out for us.

I would also like to thank the two good Samaritans who came to our aid prior to arrival of the deputies.

Louis Monaco II
Clinton, Mo.

Stores should deliver to firefighters

Instead of driving a fire truck, which probably gets five mpg or thereabouts, to pick up groceries, why don’t the firefighters just order their food by telephone and have it delivered to the store? (11/28, Local, “Watchdog: Firefighters are still on call, even in the freezer aisle”)

All the stores we shop have delivery trucks, and I would bet that the quantity and frequency of the firefighters’ orders would be sufficient to justify the store’s delivery expense. Or if not, they could justify it as part of their good citizenship and advertise this service as such.

Jim Sproul
Lee’s Summit

Firefighters need groceries, too

To the person who wrote to the Watchdog column (11/28, Local, “Firefighters are still on call, even in the freezer aisle”) because they were upset about the firetrucks at grocery stores: This really upsets me.

Firefighters have to eat, too, and some work 24/7. They have their trucks with them. Who cares if there are two or more firefighters at the grocery store? They have their radios with them at all times, and they will forget about their cart full of food for their station and drop everything to save your life. I applaud every one of them. They will do their best, quickly, to ensure your family’s safety.

I do not have family or friends who are firefighters. But I do respect them and the hard work they do. God forbid, you may someday have to thank them for saving your life and home.

Debbie Thompson
Independence

‘Excessive’ police, firefighter pay

Yael Abouhalkah writes, “the City Council unfortunately spent millions in earnings tax revenues in the 1990s while handing out excessive pay raises to police officers and firefighters” (8/28, Opinion, “Why KC’s earnings tax matters to suburbs”).

What is the appropriate salary for a police officer to rush to an armed disturbance or a firefighter to run into a burning building? From what experience in doing either does Abouhalkah draw to conclude that the pay of police officers and firefighters is excessive? Generally, police officers and firefighters enjoy middle-class lifestyles, not much more. Is that excessive compensation for the jobs they perform?

Generally, citizens and their elected officials believe that the public is well served by police officers and firefighters and that the pay they receive is well deserved. The same cannot be said for newspaper columnists private sector compensation rather than from tax dollars. However, newspaper columnists don’t often risk serious injury or death, nor are they required to even make sense.

Michael Lee Kobe
Kansas City, Kan.