Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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Kudos to Mayor Linda Kadlec, city employees, as well as the volunteers who have been covering the city to assist citizens in the clean up after the recent storm. Barry Boyer, Ritzville...
A report in the Ritzville Journal on July 25 explained the Washington Department of Ecology was going to fund 72 clean water projects with $152 million in loans and grants for the next fiscal year. State financial managers we are told calculate that the funding will create more than 700 local construction and design jobs supporting more than 1,600 jobs across the state. Does the government really create jobs as the state financial managers claim? Not a chance. {{mor}} Every dollar a government agent pays an individual to do...
Vote no on a new hospital. I talked to an expert that has over 30 years experience in hospital administration and he said all we need is an emergency room, lab and a heliport. Marty can take care of most people in his clinic and send the rest to Spokane. This will save millions of dollars. I almost died in that hospital 30 years ago from a racing heart problem and was there for five days before being sent to Spokane. Why couldn’t the board get better advice from a professional? Mark Kembel, Kirkland...
Some time ago, Osama bin Laden was killed by a group of Navy Seals, and it was reported that he was buried at sea. President Barack Obama proudly announced the well-planned attack and proudly reported that our war problems were basically over. Drones had been successful in killing some of his key followers. Pres. Obama suggested that those who hated the United States would be powerless without leadership. I believe that he has underestimated the hatred and determination of these people! Let’s stop and think. This is an enemy...
The real grass roots Friends of EARH are the folks who faithfully supported the maintenance and operations levies, while the hospital commissioners who were elected to serve these citizen taxpayers, were quietly stashing cash and systematically neglecting maintenance. “The building did it” campaign failed. Adult individuals in our community told strange tales claiming the hospital was 60 years old and the public was expected to stampede to the ballot box to reinforce the fiction that hospital buildings were not meant to las...
An open letter to all Adams County residents; If you chose to vote down the General Obligation Bond to construct a new hospital in Ritzville recently, please take the time to reconsider your vote. You will have a second chance to change your vote in November, and I most sincerely urge you to vote for the new facility. Why? I am once again learning what a God-send East Adams Rural Hospital, it’s directors, doctors and PAs, and the entire staff are, when you need them. My husband, Einar, suffered a stroke on Monday of last w...
I learned two important lessons from reading The Ritzville Adams County Journal on August 1. The first lesson had to do with truth and integrity. The Sports Columnist was unhappy because a well-known professional baseball player had apparently been untruthful regarding his use of performance enhancing drugs. He wrote, “I want honesty and I want integrity…” I was spot on in agreement with him, and I so told my wife. I read to her a part of the column; she said the baseball player has integrity. The baseball player is loyal...
My yes vote comes reluctantly… Anger over past political decisions at the board level and the bickering that almost brought our hospital to an end, is still very much on my mind. It appeared to be personality conflicts that brought on bad decisions concerning the doctors, too many roosters in a small hen house. Our hospital was profitable and it had a large “war” chest ready for an upgrade, or a new facility. Fast forward… after losing much of the war chest and still not in the black, I am asked to spend hundreds every y...
I would like to know where these $50,000 homes are at in Ritzville that Mr. Boyer is talking about. I bet there may be 10 to 15. Most of the homes in the Ritzville area are $100,000 homes, or more. That would put the taxes on a $100,000 home at about $100 per year. If you take all the figures in the letters by Boyer and see where we are, all figures are based on a $100,000 home. First $100 per year taxes; 2. $29 parks for pool; 3. $66 for Ritzville School District; 4. $35.20 for lagoon project; 5. $5.50 increase for water;...
Hopefully the Hospital Board can see 261 is a bad location. Thanks anyway. It’s a lot of traffic, noise and smell. In our travels around the U.S. we had the misfortune of stopping twice at such locations, not good. Another location of 100,000 is peanuts over 30-years. Let’s do it right for the future. Hersh Heimbigner, Ritzville... Full story
I would like to point out that in all the discussion about the hospital and how much it will cost – the entire discussion is focused around ten million dollars. Please be aware that borrowing ten million dollars is not free. I have noticed that the discussion has not extended to how much a ten million dollar loan will cost us over the 30-year life of the loan. I am not an accountant, but I can assure you that when I have borrowed a large amount of money over a long period of time, I paid handsomely. Do not be fooled by the t...
The estimated cost of a new hospital is said to be no more than $50 annually for an owner/renter of a home assessed at $50,000 for perhaps the next 30 years. Look around, how many of the current residents of Ritzville can be expected to pay the hospital bill for as many as 30 more years? One important reason there are unsold homes in Ritzville is the rate of dying (or abandoned homes) exceeds those looking for a home in Ritzville. The power brokers in Ritzville have been very successful in making certain that most of the chil...
Some major misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the Hospital District’s finances have been making the rounds; here are the facts. The two key change points in the District’s cash-flow history have been the loss of the doctors at the end of January of 2011, and the final termination of the terrible Coast-to-Coast contract at the end of September 2012. The District’s losses during the period thus defined – that is, for February 2011 through September 2012, inclusive – were at an annualized rate of $954,077 (not adju...
To paraphrase an old proverb, “We sit in the shade of trees others have planted.” Many years ago, those before us recognized a need and as residents we have benefited from their forethought. We need a new hospital in Ritzville! I spent two days recently at the hospital and realized how important a new facility is needed. The need for an overnight stay kept me from having to go to Spokane for care. At first, it seemed rather useless to have beds and care available, but there were two of us at the time. The emergency rooms wer... Full story
There are many sides to the ongoing saga of the effort to decide whether or not to build a new hospital/clinic in Ritzville. To me, the question is not if we need a NEW hospital – it is whether we need a hospital at all. Again – to me, it is an obvious YES, of course we need a hospital. No, we don’t need to try to build a Deaconess, or Sacred Heart, here in Ritzville, but we do need a facility with a few beds and a good emergency department, along with clinic rooms, radiology, physical therapy and laboratory, and of cours...
There is a question I’d like to have answered. How come there is no surgical unit in the plans for the new hospital? It seems to me that minor surgery would be a good thing to help make a hospital profitable. Why is it necessary to ship everyone to Spokane who needs minor surgery? If we had a general surgeon, and a minor surgery unit in a new hospital, it might be easier to maintain a profit. I see in the newspaper article that the hospital has become more profitable, but still is not in the black. By reading the article they...
The majority of the employees of Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2 wish to express their support of the upcoming General Obligation Bond. As healthcare providers, it is essential that we are able to continue providing healthcare to this district. Our current building limits us in workflow, services, technology, security and safety. We feel it is vital to this district that a critical access hospital remains in Ritzville and is functional to ensure quality healthcare for future generations of family, friends and...
In response to Barry Boyer’s July 11 editorial, I would like to fill in the blanks for one of his examples: I trust hospital commissioner Jerry Snyder because, although he did campaign to preserve our current facility, since he got on the building committee he has realized it is not the best use of our money to try and fix the current hospital. After listening to the experts, he was able to “man up” and say he was wrong and now sees it is best to build a new hospital. I admire and trust a person that has the intestinal forti...
Jim Preston, in his letter of 20 June 2013, was concerned with Section 7 of EARH No. 2 Resolution No. 13-03. Mr. Preston was concerned that the hospital board could do something, anything, or nothing with the $10 million if the bond issue be passed by the voters. The Walker’s, in what supposedly was a response to Jim Preston, ignored the issue and changed the subject. But Jim Preston is not the only EARH No. 2 voter concerned with the issue of Section 7 of the EARH No. 2 resolution. Perhaps there is no issue to concern voters... Full story
Several months back, I would have been the first to tell you our community didn’t need a new hospital. What we had was good enough. It was good enough decades ago when I had two of my kids there; and the rooms look exactly the same. So I figured it was good enough now. Recently, I have spent considerable time in our hospital. Mike has had several lengthy stays there. I’ve seen first-hand how difficult it was to get him to the bathroom with a walker – the bathrooms aren’t equipped for walkers. It took delicate and dangero...
Do We Really Need a White Elephant? Having worked as an EMT (1983-1991) and staff member at East Adams County Rural Hospital, I can tell you that the idea of floating a $10 million bond on the backs of taxpayers is pure folly. I know, 20 to 25 years ago is a long time, but some things never change. The front page of the July 3, 2013, issue of the Ritzville Journal says it all, “Hospital Revenue Improving, Not Yet Profitable.” This headline could have been written, 10, 15, or yes, even 25 years ago. Take a gander at the Mee...
Right off the bat I want to most graciously say thank you to all the wonderful people that were involved in getting both of the Benefits for the Tracy’s off the ground and so very, very successful. I have enough room in this letter to state each name I know of who has helped in every way, large or small, but I am too afraid of leaving someone out and hurting someone’s feelings. Records were kept up to minute of these benefits, but when more and more donations and money kept pouring in to me, Peggy, Dawnell and delivered to... Full story
Eric Walker states that ten million dollars sounds like a lot of money and then proceeds to try to convince us that it isn’t. Eric – it is a lot of money! Stating that it was more in the past does not change the fact that it is still a lot of money – today. Suddenly there are designs and plans for the proposed structure, why aren’t they listed in Resolution 13-03? I certainly don’t have enough confidence in the present commission to give them a ten million dollar, thirty-year bond without some direction on how to spend it....
Monster beverage and various other brands of beverages that are laced with caffeine, sugar and various items that cause them to be addictive are finally starting to be brought under criticism. These drinks are more dangerous to young people and some have died. Business companies are lacing gum and candy with caffeine to increase the demand by children who seem to be constantly on the lookout for things that will give them a jolt. Young people are already targeted by cereals and other processed foods that can cause them to be...
This is to clarify John Rankin’s statement last week in reference to the Kramers inability to secure financing for updating the theater 35mm equipment to digital equipment. I did not try to secure financing for the conversion, which is costly as well as necessary building updates to facilitate digital equipment. The financial sense of using from my savings, or securing a mortgage, which there would be little possibility of my outliving the obligation, does not register for me. I am over 75 years old, a cancer survivor of a... Full story