Letters To Editor

In the beginning of February, our 220-year-old American chestnut log house burned to the ground. Numerous fire company members courageously fought the blaze in below-freezing temperatures. They rolled a 4-inch hose over a third of a mile along Bridle Path Road to pump water from a neighbor's pond. We all have so many unsung heroes in our midst. Our family praises and applauds the ongoing service of these dedicated firefighters, as do countless others in the community.

A friend heard that when your heart is broken, the cracks are filled with love and compassion from others. This has been so true. We experienced genuine love and compassion expressed by so many during this difficult time. Having been surrounded by the goodness, kindness and caring of humanity, we wish to express our sincere thanks to each of you.

Our friend, Chris Neely, set up a "Save Gnome Countryside" account which provided such generous support that we plan to use the funds to help maintain the trails and property, giving back to the community the love that has been shown to us. We want this to be a community gathering place for family and friends and want everyone to feel welcome.

You've heard, "God is love," and we've certainly experienced the spirit of God in our community.

Richard Humphreys

and 386 gnomes

Colerain

The crisis at the Veterans Administration involving Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and others is very unfortunate, however it is not the first crisis involving this massive agency nor will it be the last.

Secretary Shinseki inherited an agency that was fraught with problems going back decades. He has rebuilt the VA health care system from the bottom up, and thousands of veterans, myself included, have benefited.

The veterans organizations and legislators who are calling for Eric Shinseki's resignation are not taking into account all of the facts.

It is virtually impossible for Shinseki or anyone else for that matter to have total control over 250,000 employees nationwide. VA health care has to work within the demands and constraints set up by Congress. They have to deliver health care, process claims and satisfy continuous scrutiny by a myriad of veterans organizations, each with their own set of expectations and hoops to jump through.

On the one hand, Congress expects the VA to deliver more with fewer resources, then, when the VA has trouble meeting their objectives, they are chastised by those same legislators, who are egged on by the veterans organizations and the public.

I cannot think of any other government official who has taken the responsibility for trying to correct and bring change to an agency that had so many problems and corrected many of those problems as well as Secretary Shinseki.

If you want to get a glimpse of what he has accomplished, take a ride up to the Lebanon VA Medical Center and see firsthand the multitude of improvements made there in the past few years. Or better yet, talk to a Vietnam veteran who had to deal with the VA back in the 1960s and 1970s and ask that veteran if VA health care has improved under Shinseki.

There will always be people who do not live up to their responsibilities. The terrible mistakes that were made at several VA facilities are unconscionable. However, Secretary Shinseki deserves the right to continue trying to improve the VA as he set out to do.

Gary M. Levinson

Lancaster

Kudos to the Shalefield Organizing Committee for arranging the pipeline construction information session on May 13. Thank you to the Lancaster Friends Meeting for making space available.

Such trainings provide valuable knowledge, empowering local citizens to participate in the decision-making process.

Let's keep the Atlantic Sunrise Central Penn pipeline out of Lancaster County because it will worsen our already-poor air quality, do irreparable damage to habitats and cherished Lancaster County sites, lower property values, threaten high-quality streams and pose safety risks through leakage and explosions (Williams Partners have an abysmal safety record).

In addition, Williams company representatives admitted, at a meeting with our Lancaster County commissioners, that some of the gas in this pipeline could go to a liquid natural gas facility in Maryland and then be exported. If they admit this much, one suspects they intend to export all they can. That will raise prices domestically.

An export boom also would accelerate drilling in already stressed Marcellus Shale communities where the list of the harmed grows daily.

Finally, there is the worldwide problem of climate change. Ramping up natural gas production is a bridge to more climate- related disasters.

We need to transition to a low-carbon economy. A fee on carbon- based fuels at the point of extraction with 100 percent of money distributed to American households as a cushion against higher prices is an elegant solution advocated by a growing number of economists across the political spectrum.

Jerry Lee Miller

Manheim Township

No more Professor Paul E. Gottfried on the New Era op-ed? Is the U.S., locally and nationally, going crazy with PC, or what? Gottfried is not only as good as your syndicated conservative columnists, he's better. Gottfried brings, he brought, a depth of historical knowledge and relevance to his analyses the likes of Hanson, Brooks, Sowell and Stossel rarely do. Thomas, Parker and Malkin aren't in the same league.

And I'm not a like-minded "paleo-conservative" reader. I'm a pinko-bleeding-heart liberal who just happens to value what my philosophic guru, Kenneth Burke, calls a "full dialectic." All voices need to be heard in a democracy, even those that criticize their own party's establishment.

The window on free speech has long since lowered in the USA. Soon, it may be shut.

The most redeeming thing I read in the Intell/New Era the week of May 12 was, "McCaskey in rare air on Post list." It was heartening to see McCaskey beating out 16 other county schools on the scale of "challenging" AP tests and curricula.

I took note of your articles and the Intell editorial on the latest laurels for Lampeter-Strasburg. I'm a graduate, of a vintage, of West Lampeter schools. I know firsthand how good they are. I'm married to a retired L-S district teacher. Still, making allowances for a possible difference in average years of experience, I wouldn't bet a dollar that SDL teachers aren't as skilled as those at L-S.

Edward C. Appel

Leola

During the past few years whenever a mass shooting or the daily news of murder by gun led to discussion of reasonable gun control, opponents of even the slightest attempt to improve the safety of all citizens parroted the misused slogan: "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."

I hope that people took notice of the tragedy that occurred recently in Murrysville. A troubled young man with a knife stabbed and slashed 21 students and a security guard before he could be disarmed. Despite extreme pain and inconvenience, all are expected to survive, and continue to have the opportunity of living a fulfilling life.

If he had been attacking people with a gun, dozens of people would probably have been killed and their many families doomed to life-changing trauma and remorse.

Yes, some people do kill other people, but when they have a gun, it can be done at greater distance, more efficiently, faster and more easily than by any other means.

J. Kenneth Kreider

Elizabethtown

On April 26, the volunteer organization Habitat Manheim Township had its first "Lancaster Native Plant & Wildlife Festival." It was a great success, due to the participation of several native plants nurseries, wildlife educational and rescue organizations, public and nonprofit organizations dedicated to the protection of our water and soil resources.

The festival was an opportunity to develop awareness of the importance of promoting native plants, trees, pollinators, wildlife and conserving healthy soil and water.

I want to thank the volunteers of Habitat MT and the great support given to them by the Office of Parks and Recreation of Manheim Township. With the leadership shown by both teams, Manheim Township has nurtured the beginning of a community event that, already, attendees, volunteers and vendors are looking forward to continuing next year.

Jose E. Diaz

Manheim Township

I don't blame Mr. Rowen for getting his employees into Obamacare ("Small business and the Affordable Care Act," May 18). If he doesn't offload their health insurance to the government ACA, his competitors eventually will, leaving him less competitive in the marketplace.

But note in the article that raw premiums are up significantly until you count in the government subsidy his employees each receive. Obamacare is the law, and Susquehanna Glass insurance coverage is now paid for (to a varying extent) by the taxpayers at large, you and me. Insurance hasn't gotten cheaper or better, but now myself and the employees' neighbors are helping to insure Mr. Rowan's employees. I didn't ask for that burden; a thank you note would have been nice. You're welcome.

Given the recent Health & Human Services decision to have individuals (not their insurance company, not their employer) pay all the hospital costs over a "reference price" agreed to by the insurance company and the government for specific operations, people will be waiting for a "hip replacement 50 percent off" sale.

That overage won't count against your deductible or any of your "out-of-pocket" expenses. Truly excellent medical care we all take for granted today will become a luxury for the wealthy, and hospitals will be driven to provide the least possible care at the "reference price" to stay in business. I'm sure this is better - because Washington told us it would be. Dave Williams

Lititz

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