Squirrel bite
To the Editor:
Kudos to our County Health Department . . . and shame on the State Department of Health.
Our son was bitten by a wild squirrel that was acting lethargic. (Questioning the logic of a 15 year old who decides to catch a lethargic squirrel to see if he can see what is wrong with it is, or course, pointless.) He did catch the squirrel resulting in a bite. Thankfully, he killed the squirrel rather than just letting it go.
When I called our County Health Department, Betty was very helpful in getting me the information I needed so that we could determine whether the squirrel might have rabies. Our son beheaded the little rascal and we froze him. Then we met with Mark at Dutch Discount. He collected the body and filled out the paperwork. After that, it was off to the state for the head.
Now, here is where it gets sticky. The State Department did not want to test the head for rabies. I hope that hit you the way it hit Mark, Betty and us. We are told to vaccinate all of our pets annually for rabies. Yet, the State Department was refusing to test it for us. They said the likelihood that the squirrel had rabies was very slim.
I don’t know about you, but that was small comfort for our son and for us as his parents. I don’t know if they wanted us to just take the chance that our son would be okay or if they wanted him to go through an expensive and painful course of shots. Either way, this did not set right with Mark.
We want to give a heartfelt “thank you” to Mark. He got on the phone and insisted the state take the head. He argued with them and pushed them to test it, finally throwing in that they were dealing with a minor here. I shudder to think of what would have happened if it had not been a minor.
Thankfully, all turned out well. The squirrel did not have rabies and our son is a much smarter young man after going through several days of worry.
So, thank you to Mark and Betty for helping us with this and for being there for us.
Abigail and Dave Wolfer
Near Patriot
Gas prices
To the Editor:
Why is the price of gas in Vevay comparable to the price in California?
The barrel has dropped almost $20 in the last eight weeks yet Vevay gas drops very little. Gas in Madison got into the $3.30 range but Vevay – $3.69-$3.79. Either the owners don’t care or they bought into the wrong franchise.
Gas was $3.12 in the northern part of South Carolina last weekend.
Ron Shaffer
Vevay
Tourism
To the Editor:
Recently, as I was returning from Warsaw and crossing the bridge back into Indiana, I saw numerous pieces of heavy equipment scurrying around in our county politicians’ “Field of Schemes” (A.K.A. Markland Industrial Park), giving the false impression that something was happening there.
Glancing off to the right, I saw Belterra and her splendidly coifed golf course and I was struck by the incongruity of placing an industrial park with its attendant, ugly Butler buildings, next to the crown jewel of our county’s tourism industry.
Normally, tourism related business such as amusement parks, restaurants and bars are what you find around casinos.
I find it hard to believe that Belterra officials let this “fouling of the nest” occur, without any opposition or input.
The referendum that allowed the casino to come here was the county’s way of coping with the inevitable.
Tobacco farming was a dying way of life and the two major industrial employers in the county had already left for “greener” industrial pastures, so the legalization of gambling and locating a casino here was a very viable option.
Many of the same politicians that strongly advocated the casino locating here are still with us.
It is my opinion that after lobbying for this gambling/tourism referendum, these elected officials should have pressed on with the promotion of tourism in the county.
As Perfect’s RV park and the Kentucky Speedway have proven about tourism related businesses – build it and they will come.
Unfortunately this axiom does not apply to “industrial parks.”
The single biggest mistake on the county’s part is having separate directors of tourism and economic development.
Our director of tourism should also be leading the county’s economic development efforts.
This director should have solid credentials and a proven track record in his or her field.
To fill a position like this with an O.J.T. director is ludicrous and the lack of results along with a multi-million dollar expenditure over a period of four or five years at this “field of schemes”, bears this out.
My purpose in writing this letter is to encourage voters in the upcoming election to question the candidates about this squandering of our money
If the candidates want to continue to pour money down this hole, vote them out.
It is high time that someone put the brakes on regarding this ill conceived plan and to install some new members on the board of the economic development commission that play to the county’s strengths, rather than showcasing the lack of vision by our county’s elected leaders.
Steve Bladen
Tapps Ridge