OPINION

OPINION | NWA Letters to the Editor

Officer, firefighter come to rescue, appreciated

On a recent Saturday while driving to Sulphur Springs for supper, one of the tires on our minivan began losing air pressure. Fortunately, my wife, Karen, and I were able to make it to the restaurant, Cellar Creekside, before the tire went totally flat. I went in and asked Bev, a co-owner, if there was anyone in town who could help us with the flat tire. She said she would take care of it and showed us to our table. In a few minutes, Sulphur Springs Police Officer Josh Greer and firefighter Phillip Johnson came to our table, as they had come to help us.

I went to the parking lot with them to give them a hand. After giving them the vehicle's owner's manual and showing them the location of the spare tire, they insisted I go back inside and enjoy my meal. A while later, Officer Greer came inside to our table. He said they had tried to repair the tire, but it was not repairable as it had been cut. So, they put the spare tire on the van.

These two men exemplified the public service of our emergency services. They most definitely put the citizenry first.

Thank you, Officer Josh and firefighter Phillip. You are a credit to Sulphur Springs.

Dave Mack, Bella Vista

Reaction to inaction goes from concerned to angry

My recent experiences on the front lines of our once-again precarious public health crisis originally had me urgently concerned. A July 31 headline in the Democrat-Gazette, "Little Movement Seen on Changing Mask Mandate Bill," along with quotes from several state legislators made me furious. I am enraged as a parent. I am livid as a front-line physician. I am incredulous as a sixth-generation Arkansan. We are better than this!

We continue to be in the throes of a worldwide pandemic of a novel respiratory virus that has become the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and in Arkansas. Our state also has a serious problem with vaccine hesitancy and misinformation. Our hospitals are full, our health care workers are exhausted, and excess mortality not due to COVID-19 is rising along with preventable deaths from the virus itself. It makes no sense for the state Legislature to handcuff public school districts by limiting their ability to make decisions that reflect the values of the local community: to keep safe our children who are unable to be vaccinated. There is no doubt that students will soon be in school with peers whose parents have made decisions based on misinformation. These parents resist vaccination or refuse to take recommended precautions (masking) to prevent the spread of the deadly contagion. Act 1002 is unconscionably misguided and will no doubt result in preventable and excess disease, disability and death of Arkansans -- including our children.

Trent Garner and the "Know Nothings" (thank you for that, Rex Nelson) in the Legislature continue to put politics before people. They enact poorly considered policy that will harm citizens of Arkansas. It infuriates me to watch elected officials behave with cold indifference to the massive human cost of this pandemic. They treat conservative principles like grotesque fetishes. Meaning the value of the principle in and of itself is wildly outshined by their bizarre gratification from crowing in the media. Part of adult life with functioning cognitive maturity is developing the critical ability to change ones mind in the face of reasonable criticism or new information. Legislators, you can choose to be conservative or liberal – I respect it. You can even choose to be ignorant – I expect it. But you cannot choose to be dangerous. If the author and supporters of Act 1002 cannot muster the gumption to allow local school districts to require masks for their students who are unable to be vaccinated, the citizens of Arkansas have no choice but to hold those legislators not just accountable, but responsible for what follows.

An Aug. 1 Democrat-Gazette editorial suggested contacting legislators. The legislators' recent comments in the media make this appear futile. A civic-minded legislator knows that during a crisis they should seek input not only from their constituents, but also from experts with vetted guidance: hospital CEOs, medical staff, school boards, health boards, and other community stakeholders who hold a realistic and sobering perspective from the trenches. If they don't heed good advice, God help us.

Dr. Drew Rodgers, Fayetteville

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