Letters, Feb. 21, 2012
Prescription bill only hurts the honest
Editor:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- I read in the paper where the Legislature is thinking about proposing a bill to make pseudoephedrine a prescription drug. I was troubled about this so I went to a pharmacist and asked the pharmacist what she thought. She felt it was a good idea because it would be a little less hassle on the pharmacy end of things. Granted, it may reduce the meth problem a little but it would be a costly inconvenience to the honest person who would have to pay a doctor for a prescription for the medication.
Now, here is where I find it a little ironic. The number one drug problem in our state for the past 10 years or so is the addict who is addicted to prescriptive medications. So I guess this law will enable more people to get addicted to drugs. There is not an easy solution and I am saddened that the current rules that are in place to obtain pseudoephedrine are not working, but making it a prescriptive medicine is not the answer. It would only hurt the honest working person who needs the medication.
Charles R. "Chad" Shaffer
Kenova
Outsourcing still business as usual
The recent article "State buys new $98M computer system" by Eric Eyre was well written but somewhat naive in that there was no mention of any independent audit or oversight to track this money. This is $98,000,000 -- a lot of zeroes. A "steering committee" made up of Earl Ray Tomblin, Glen Gainer and John Perdue was mentioned, but these are the folks that need watching.
This strangely resembles the "computerization" of the Legislature in the late 1980s. A firm out of Colorado was "awarded" the contract of $1 million, even though, as now, there were competent West Virginia firms that would have welcomed the business. This time it is a firm out of Canada. Anytime we encountered problems, and they were often, one or more technical representatives had to be flown in from Colorado. Now it will be from Canada.
With no competent oversight, we will be wondering where this money is going. Keep in mind, every household in West Virginia could be computerized for this amount of money.
I realize this is "business as usual" and, after all, I voted for these folks.
Jack Miller
Madison
Delegate is not helping property owners
Prescription bill only hurts the honest
Editor:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- I read in the paper where the Legislature is thinking about proposing a bill to make pseudoephedrine a prescription drug. I was troubled about this so I went to a pharmacist and asked the pharmacist what she thought. She felt it was a good idea because it would be a little less hassle on the pharmacy end of things. Granted, it may reduce the meth problem a little but it would be a costly inconvenience to the honest person who would have to pay a doctor for a prescription for the medication.
Now, here is where I find it a little ironic. The number one drug problem in our state for the past 10 years or so is the addict who is addicted to prescriptive medications. So I guess this law will enable more people to get addicted to drugs. There is not an easy solution and I am saddened that the current rules that are in place to obtain pseudoephedrine are not working, but making it a prescriptive medicine is not the answer. It would only hurt the honest working person who needs the medication.
Charles R. "Chad" Shaffer
Kenova
Outsourcing still business as usual
The recent article "State buys new $98M computer system" by Eric Eyre was well written but somewhat naive in that there was no mention of any independent audit or oversight to track this money. This is $98,000,000 -- a lot of zeroes. A "steering committee" made up of Earl Ray Tomblin, Glen Gainer and John Perdue was mentioned, but these are the folks that need watching.
This strangely resembles the "computerization" of the Legislature in the late 1980s. A firm out of Colorado was "awarded" the contract of $1 million, even though, as now, there were competent West Virginia firms that would have welcomed the business. This time it is a firm out of Canada. Anytime we encountered problems, and they were often, one or more technical representatives had to be flown in from Colorado. Now it will be from Canada.
With no competent oversight, we will be wondering where this money is going. Keep in mind, every household in West Virginia could be computerized for this amount of money.
I realize this is "business as usual" and, after all, I voted for these folks.
Jack Miller
Madison
Delegate is not helping property owners
Forced pooling does not protect property owners.
In response to articles on Jan. 6 citing Delegate Tim Manchin, O, my gosh! Is Delegate Tim Manchin serious? After months of meetings he failed to secure meaningful landowner rights. I suffered having my private property taken, damaged and destroyed by an oil and gas company with permission of the state. I consider Gov. Tomblin's horizontal drilling law a complete failure. It limits and reduces landowner rights and it does nothing to return or defend constitutional landowner rights.
Now, Tim Manchin wants to "help us again" by eliminating even more property rights. Tim Manchin's plan would not only force owners to surrender mineral property to a private company, it would deny owners just compensation because they would receive LESS royalties than others in the same mineral pool. How does Tim Manchin's plan compensate for the lease bonus under forced pooling? This is just another bad example of West Virginians being denied constitutional rights to property, just compensation, equal protection and due process.
Tim Manchin should stop telling property owners he is going to "help them" and instead protect our constitutional rights. It's difficult enough to oppose property invasion without his "help." People like me don't want to stop oil and gas development. But, we do oppose any "forced taking" of our property, government supported or otherwise. We oppose mineral development without regulatory enforcement that protects the environment. We want fair and equal protection under the law! Property owners are being "legally" robbed and our constitutional rights are being denied in plain view.
LTC Rick Humphreys, USA-Ret.
Mannington
Capito should back other means of transportation
We need federal money to fix roads and bridges, but Rep. Shelley Moore Capito fails to tell us in her Feb. 2 Gazette column that her H.R.7 would cut Amtrak by 25 percent, deny gas tax funding to mass transit and eliminate funds for sidewalks and bicycle trails.
In toeing the party line, I doubt she considered constituents who ride the Amtrak Cardinal and the KRT buses. Or those trying to connect Charleston and South Charleston with a bicycle trail. Or motorists facing even more congestion if transit riders are forced to drive. Or people who can't afford to drive, with $3.50 gas.
The Senate has a somewhat better transportation bill, MAP-21, and I hope Rep. Capito, who has voted for Amtrak and transit in the past, will urge the conference committee to come out with a bill that gives us broad transportation choices. We can't keep gobbling up all our land, polluting our air, and wasting our fuel on new highways. Trains and transit are the engines that will provide construction jobs and move us, and our economy, into the future. Better places to walk and bicycle around our towns are also needed for healthy transportation.
Bonni McKeown
Charleston
