Letters to the Editor

Dear editor, Residents at the Meadows Assisted Living & Memory Care created wanted to share a Veterans Day poem that they wrote.   (To the tune of America the Beautiful) Thank you on this Veteran’s Day For serving humankind. We trust that will find a way To have peace in this time. America! America! God shed such grace on thee. We wish you health and happiness May all your years be free. Elyssa Bennin Spring Green   Dear editor, No parades, no celebrations to honor our veterans on Veterans Day this year.  But as I drove down Highway 14 on Veterans Day my heart was warmed and impressed to see so many US flags flying. It was a wonderful way to show respect for those who have served and for some who lost their lives defending our country.  Thank you to our veterans and to those who showed their respect and love for their country by flying their flags. Irene Rapp Avoca   Dear editor, As a volunteer for the Town of Spring Green polls on election day, I was impressed with the extensive preparations made by our town clerk, Vicki Terpstra. Her thoughtful planning created an environment where voters and workers could feel safely secure. I was also very impressed with election inspector, Sue Meise, who handled every issue quickly and professionally. Both Vicki and Sue treated each voter with equal respect and made every effort to ensure that every vote counted. In the event of a record voter turnout in the midst of a pandemic, the dedicated workers and volunteers, as well as the patient, respectful voters were a fine example of how a diverse community can work together in a democratic society. Kim Russell Town of Spring Green     Dear editor, The medical staff at Sauk Prairie Healthcare and Prairie Clinic recently asked their federal, state and local elected officials as well as school boards to publicly support the covid-19 prevention strategies of face coverings, physical distancing, frequent hand-washing, and avoiding large gatherings to stem the rising numbers of infections: We at Sauk Prairie Healthcare and Prairie Clinic need your help to stem the rising numbers of covid-19 infections. We are asking for your public support of prevention strategies: face coverings, physical distancing, frequent hand-washing, and avoiding large gatherings.  As a community leader, you can have a significant impact helping our communities adopt prevention strategies while keeping our local businesses vibrant. We ask that you speak directly with your colleagues, friends, businesses, and family about the importance of adopting the covid-19 prevention strategies. We ask you to share your support in conversations, interviews, at community meetings, on social media, and anywhere else you think will be helpful. This year has been particularly challenging for Sauk County with covid-19 causing significant illness and death, along with economic hardship.  We have witnessed an unbelievable response from our communities. Many of our neighbors have adopted prevention strategies even while suffering an economic toll. Unfortunately, there have been some gaps in adopting prevention strategies, leading to increasing numbers of covid-19 infections.   We want nothing more than to be available to care for our local community members when they need us. The current increase of covid-19 infections threatens our ability to do this. In an effort to balance the prevention of a severe infectious disease with the ability to care for our community members locally, and the desire to support our local businesses, we need everyone to adopt these basic measures.  We recognize the economic impact these prevention measures have on our local community businesses, particularly distancing measures and avoiding large gatherings. But such gatherings are where the majority of covid-19 transmission occurs. The more widespread our use of prevention strategies, the more we can reduce transmission, allowing our communities to thrive.  We welcome your support and any opportunities to collaborate with you to improve the health and safety of Sauk County. We are here to serve your health needs and provide answers to your covid-19 questions. If we can provide you with any information, please feel free to contact us at info@saukprairiehealthcare.org.  Sincerely, Sauk Prairie Healthcare Medical Staff, Prairie Clinic Medical Staff David Adams, MD, Maria Andres, PA-C, Maribeth Baker, MD, Christine Bathke, MD, Jessica Bekker, MD, Diane Bindl, CNM, Tara Bindl, CRNA, Trevver Buss, MD, Andrea Chao, MD, Denise Cole-Ouzounian, APNP, Jeffrey Collins, MD, H. Clay Dean, MD, Cally Dwyer, PA-C, David Eberdt, PA-C, Leah Ederer, MD, Masaru Furukawa, MD, Nathan Grunewald, MD, Matthew Hebert, MD, Aaron Hoekstra, PA-C, Suzanne Jacobs, CRNA, Steven Johnson, MD, Curtis Johnson, CRNA, Agnes Kanikula, PA-C, Kari Fisher, DNP, Bryant Kearney, MD, Lucas Kemp, CRNA, David Krey, MD, Wendy Ledesma, MD, Deanna Lord, PA-C, John McAuliffe, MD, Sarah Niles, MD, Angela O’Connor, MD, Todd Schad, MD, E. Barclay Shultz, MD, Angie Sorg, APNP, Katherine Templeton, MD, Thomas Varley, MD, Kevin Vogt, MD, Eric Warbasse, MD, Emily Weiss, FNP, Suzanne Welsch, MD, Ellen Wermuth, MD, Linda Youngren, MD   Dear editor, Not working for over 200 days.  How long would you keep your refrigerator if it conked out and didn’t work? a day? a week? a month? How about 200 days? Would it bother you if, during a long Wisconsin winter, your  well-maintained furnace didn’t work? for months? If your car became unreliable and quit running over and over stranding you far from where you want to be, would you consider getting a different car? a different brand? I want my appliances—my frig, my stove, my furnace, my hot water heater, all of ‘em—and my car, too, to be dependable, reliable, to do their jobs with as little fuss and maintenance as possible. That’s why I paid good money for them. I expect to invest in some periodic service but I do not want to be tinkering with them all the time. I do not want them to break down, fall apart, or otherwise not do what they are there to do. I expect them to work quietly and efficiently, in the background, keeping me safe, comfortable, getting me where I need to go. I want the same thing from my government. Our covid battle is being fought at the state level while my state senator and state representative have been conked out for months as covid spreads throughout Wisconsin, harming the economy, education, health care, mental health and almost every aspect of our daily lives.  It’s way past time they get to work for the citizens who invest in them. Dorothy Thompson Richland Center