Letters: Readers discuss the Jackson County jail, Danny Cox and bad Dear Abby advice
Jail remedies
I can think of three ways to correct problems in Jackson County detention facilities.
The county should create state mandatory approved training for all correctional officers, as is required in other states.
Second, the detention center should be run by the county sheriff’s office, like those in Clay, Platte, Cass and other Missouri counties. Correctional officers would work for the sheriff’s office, where they must meet minimum requirements, including background checks, before being hired.
And, finally, all correctional officers should be required to attend annual training, as is required for peace officers in Missouri.
Walter Humphrey
Kansas City
Fix, don’t repeal
Dear Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts:
I have been a professor of family medicine and psychiatry at KU Medical Center for 34 years. Over these years, I have witnessed many changes in health care coverage. As a health care professional, I have seen firsthand the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.
I understand that your perspective is that the ACA hurts Kansas residents. My experience is that this is simply not accurate.
I’ve watched patients take the initiative to participate in preventive health care practices, some for the first time in their lives. I’ve observed patients make follow-up appointments, rather than visit the emergency room for medical crises. I’ve seen the grateful faces of hard-working Kansans, able to see physicians for the first time in many years, all thanks to the ACA.
Upon your return to Washington from recess, please don’t vote for the health care proposal being considered by your colleagues in the Senate (the so-called Better Care Reconciliation Act).
We all know there are aspects of the ACA that need repair. We’ve heard claims that it’s in a death spiral. As our senators, you’re in a position to initiate needed improvements to the ACA. Please seriously consider these improvements, rather than vote for a policy that will cause harm to so many Kansans and Americans.
Bruce S. Liese
Lawrence
Who’s in charge?
I am baffled by our lawmakers’ inability to set partisan politics and lobbying interests aside to do the correct things for the people who put them in office. It seems ludicrous to draft plan after plan that disenfranchise millions of people.
Why not do the obvious and look to countries that have successful health care systems as models? Not once during the present administration have I heard any lawmaker advance this process as reasonable.
Are the insurance, pharmaceutical and medical industries running this country or are our lawmakers? It’s time our lawmakers kept the interests of the people at the forefront of their thinking.
Steve Stein
Overland Park
Magical memory
After reading “‘Summer of Love’ in KC” in the June 25 Spirit section (1E), I remembered how Danny Cox was the star (along with Brewer and Shipley) in 1969 at the Vanguard Coffee House at 43rd and Main streets.
After he finished the set, the audience wanted an encore. He played a 12-15-minute guitar instrumental that was a medley of Christmas carols, woven back and forth, from one to another, and back again. This was on my 17th birthday, in the middle of August.
It was magic.
John R.W. Taylor
Kansas City
Always ask
In the “Dear Abby” column on June 21 (7D, “Gal pals can’t see the positives in their friend’s open marriage”), a young first-time mother sought advice regarding how to approach a sensitive subject: Should she ask about the presence of firearms in the homes where her child may be invited?
Abby’s response was inadequate at best, and potentially dangerous. The risk of insulting someone by asking this question is minor compared with the risk to her child’s safety. She should have been encouraged to ask.
Death or injury to a child as the result of an unsecured firearm is all too common in America. In fact, at least one child under the age of 12 dies every week in an unintentional shooting according to the Centers for Disease Control. These so-called accidental shootings are the result of irresponsible gun ownership.
Abby missed an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of proper gun storage and to encourage a culture of responsible gun ownership in America. I ask that she correct her response.
It is parents’ responsibility to protect their children. I highly recommend the Be SMART Program at besmartforkids.org to learn more about how to keep our children safe.
Leanna Waters
Barclay
Shawnee
This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss the Jackson County jail, Danny Cox and bad Dear Abby advice."