Healthcare and its Costs
Dear editor, Update to my last letter about the PHI Emergency Helicopter Medical Transport. They called back to advise they were called at 7:00 PM, but no pilot for the helicopter was available until 8:00 am the morning we needed them. At least they were honest about it. They agreed to help me with any bills not covered by our medical insurance, which brings me to my next issue of cancer treatments and the cost of health care services in New Mexico.
Proton therapy is a new type of radiation treatment that uses protons to precisely target and destroy cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissues. It is particularly beneficial for tumors located near sensitive areas of the body, as it causes fewer side effects compared to traditional X-ray radiation therapy. Proton therapy delivers radiation with sub-millimeter precision, allowing for better targeting of the tumor. This treatment is effective for various types of cancer and is often used when conventional radiation may pose a higher risk to healthy tissues.
For more detailed information, you can refer to sources like the Mayo Clinic and MD Anderson Cancer Center. They have them in Phoenix, AZ, Oklahoma City, OK, and Houston, TX. We were told one would be coming to Albuquerque, NM, last year, but one of the cancer doctors told us they did not have $40 million to pay for it.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order on Wednesday that directs $10 million in taxpayer money to fund a new abortion clinic in the state to meet an expected rise in demand for the procedure. The clinic is to be built in southern New Mexico’s Dona Ana County, along the border with Texas, where abortions have been banned since the Supreme Court’s June ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. I am sure we need more money spent on the living, instead of taking lives.
President Donald J. Trump sent letters to leading pharmaceutical manufacturers outlining the steps they must take to bring down the prices of prescription drugs in the United States to match the lowest price offered in other developed nations (known as the most-favorednation, or MFN, price. The difference between Democrats & Republicans should be clear.
Signed, Mr. Harry L. Hall USAF Veteran, Retired Police Sheriff Lt 38+ Years
Thanks for Keeping Grants Clean and Fresh
Dear editor, If you are driving downtown in the Mainstreet District of Grants, you might have noticed the fresh paint on the bridge rails on Santa Fe Avenue.
This past Saturday, 16 AVID Students from the Grants High School and numerous volunteers joined Grants City Marketing Director, Denise Hanson, to pick up trash, clean up weeds and paint. To see young people and other volunteers working so hard to make a difference in our community should make all of us proud to live here. So grateful to have Denise Hanson, a real fireball, to expend her endless energy and devotion to our city!
The Grants City employees have also been out and about, cutting weeds, raking and making our medians look beautiful. These hard workers are out in the hot sun and elements all year round, making our city a better place to live! We should all be inspired to do better at cleaning our yards and businesses, cutting our weeds and grass and ridding our properties of all trash, junk and rubbish. As we all work together to beautify our city, we will invite new business and economic development. Tourism will grow because people will like to visit an area that is clean and is blessed with some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.
I would also like to thank the courts for sending community service workers to pick up trash. These workers are taking dozens of bags of trash every month off our streets and alleys. Community service workers give back to the community as they take care of their obligations to the courts.
The Grants City Council and Administration support all of these efforts to make our city better. We are working on 'clean and lien' projects that, within time, will make a big difference within Grants. Please support these efforts by keeping your home and business properties clean and neat. Thank you everyone for your efforts, seen and unseen!
Robert S. Windhorst, Code Enforcement Officer, City of Grants
Applause for Grants City Workers
Dear editor, Well, once again there was no water in my faucet when I turned it on to do my dishes. It was after 4:30 and the office was closed so I called dispatch. I was told there was a leak on a street close to my house and that it would be repaired in four to six hours. Four hours later, I turned on the faucet and sure enough there was a strong trickle of water. And, believe me, a trickle means a lot when before there was none. I thought maybe they're going to finish the job tomorrow since it's already late. Around 10 pm, I turned on the faucet and the water was in full force. As usual, the timing estimate lived up to my expectations.
The same is true when the power goes off. I've lived in a number of large cities in the US and I have never had such prompt service when something went wrong with the utilities. I've been meaning to thank our employees many times.
And so: You are truly remarkable, conscientious and capable workers who give meaning to the word 'professionalism.' In fact, some time ago on the phone during a complicated situation regarding utilities, I was told that somebody would come by to tell me when the work was completed. Sure enough, a worker showed up at my door after hours just to tell me that. Thank you!
I think you, as a group, deserve homage either at a city council meeting or by some other means. You never disappoint.
It is a huge relief to be able to count on full restoration of our utilities in a timely way when they go off, as has always been the case in our small town of Grants ever since I've lived here. However, you are only human. If there's an exception some day to your remarkable history, you will be forgiven. You deserve it!
Gratefully, Judith Andreica Grants, N.M.
The Business of America
Dear editor, Trump fires the BLS supervisor, the EPA retracts its findings that air pollution is poisonous, NASA turns off the satellites measuring CO2 in the air; Kennedy fudges the data on vaccines and autism, etc. The avalanche of prescribed stupid has only just detached from the mountain face. Trump’s face, no doubt soon to be carved into the highest peak in the USA. I mean where else would Mr. Superlative intrigue his visage?
The message is clear: El Jefe determines all the numbers, not scientists or anyone else who can count beyond the number of their fingers and toes. Collected data says that violent crime is down significantly in DC. Nope. That finding is counter to the man of gold’s agenda. There is no such thing as objectivity. Everything is political.
The bleating of the media not part of DT’s propaganda machine focuses on the potential harm to the businessman. With no reliable statistics, with the tariffs off and on and up and down how can they plan their investments?
Easy. Make a donation to the ‘Trump Liberty’. ( Hard to imagine what is going to be in this repository: the great big man reading his tweets? The original hand written on gold tablets Trump bible? We can at least count on the business office keeping 2 sets of books.)
The fact is- a historical one hat even Trump cannot erase: business aligns with dictators very well. Whether it is Krupp and Siemens using concentration camp labor in Hitler’s Germany or the infamous Zaibatsu in Tojo’s Japan. Under Trump the business climate, unlike that of our sorry planet’s, will only improve. The sole metric CEOs need to consider is Trump’s approval rating of them and their companies. Oh and be sure to make all donations in bitcoin.
JS Byram Milan, N.M.