To the editor:

The article caption “New Town on the horizon” caught my attention.

As a part-time resident of Damascus Township for over 35 years, I’ve seen many changes. I was there in the 1970s when some of the residents opposed the proposed zoning laws. I was and am pro-zoning. These laws were eventually enacted.

Now the mention of new homes on half-acre plots are contrary to those laws. I believe in the one-acre minimum. I am not opposed to progress but feel scaling down to half acre is not beneficial to the community.

Jeanne Petta
Floral Park, NY

To the editor:

Francis Cape, a member of Tusten Volunteer Ambulance Service, (TVAS) recently submitted a letter regarding the present billing practices of Honesdale EMS advanced life support (paramedic) services. We offer the following response.

Mr. Cape states in his letter, [sic] “To most emergencies, the emergency medical dispatch center also dispatches paramedics.”

In fact, paramedics are dispatched only in specific instances where there is an imminent or potentially life-threatening condition. These instances are defined in protocols that are accepted and followed by emergency dispatching centers throughout the United States.

To further illustrate this point, in 2002, Honesdale EMS was dispatched to less than 100 calls in the TVAS response area.

Mr. Cape also notes that, at present, there is no billing arrangement between TVAS and Honesdale EMS. This almost exclusively affects patients with Medicare insurance. While they have insurance coverage for the advanced care that they require, Medicare requires that the bill be ‘bundled’ with the transporting agencies bill and submitted as one. Medicare further requires a written agreement capturing the details of the agreement and outlining the method for sharing the reimbursement. Failing such an agreement, the bill becomes the responsibility of the patient.

What Mr. Cape fails to note, however, is that TVAS has been approached on numerous occasions to establish a collaborative billing agreement that would ameliorate the problem of billing between the two entities, and that they have refused to enter into such an agreement or work in a cooperative fashion towards reaching any agreement.

It would seem, by Mr. Cape’s own words, that his focus is to dissuade the public from utilizing paramedic services. His solution seems to center on talking the patient into refusing paramedic services. He quite audaciously makes the remark that “in many cases, paramedic care is not necessary for the short duration... to the hospital.” While it is true that paramedic care is ultimately not required in some cases, it is life saving in many others. Furthermore, at last count, the closest hospitals to the TVAS area were at least 10 miles away. This hardly qualifies as a short duration for the person having a heart attack or the child who stops breathing.

We at Honesdale EMS will continue to provide paramedic services to volunteer ambulances services in our area, despite lack of joint billing arrangements. We do not desire to burden any patient with a bill. However we also cannot perform our services free of charge, as advanced life support equipment, such as medications and cardiac monitors, in addition to vehicles, vehicle maintenance and personnel are costly.

We do not receive any governmental funding. Therefore, lacking a billing agreement that will allow for one common bill reimbursable through insurances that require this, we must charge the patient for our services.

In conclusion, we urge your readers to communicate with TVAS that there needs to be a cooperative effort between TVAS and Honesdale EMS to arrive at a mutually acceptable billing agreement so that the residents of the Town of Tusten, and other areas serviced by TVAS, may continue to have uninterrupted emergency medical services of the highest quality while saving them the financial burden and agitation of the present situation.

Thank you for your continued interest in maintaining this advanced level of emergency care in our region.

Sharon Gumpper, Executive Director
Honesdale EMS
Honesdale, PA

To the editor:

Expressing concern about mitigating casino impacts, State Senator Bonacic acknowledged negative casino impacts and noted that there would be costs to bear “to ensure that we do not become another Atlantic City.”

Was this guy born yesterday? Doesn’t he remember that that was the identical pious baloney handed out when Atlantic City was contemplating gambling? They righteously proclaimed that they weren’t going to become “another Las Vegas.” But they did.

Leni Binder of Sullivan’s legislature rambled on, as usual, about the same issue, concluding that an agreement must provide “mitigation in full.” What mitigation, one wonders, would satisfy her for the first casino-related suicide? The second? The third?

And the responsive rant of Alpha Vice President Charles Degliomini, “We will not pay for political support.” Gimme a break, will ya? What makes him think anyone would imagine Alpha would do that? The fact that their founder is a fugitive or that four other executives are under indictment? C’mon.

Lee Karr
Forestburgh, NY

To the editor:

It’s quite ironic for New York State that April 9 was both National Shout Out Day against sexual violence and the National Day of Silence, a day that focuses attention on the thundering silence in social and cultural institutions about accurate depiction of and information regarding persons who are Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual and/or Transgender (LGBT).

Why ironic? Because New York State leadership remains silent in completing portions of the Sexual Assault Reform Act (SARA)—a major legislative reform that revised and strengthened criminal penal codes to benefit all victims of sexual assault, regardless of sexual orientation, and tightened up the penalties to hold sex offenders accountable. The law’s passage in 2000 was hailed as a victory that now seems hollow and bittersweet for many sexual assault survivors and advocates.

The passage of SARA was unique, in that its text, signed into law, stipulated that there was still “language to be completed” in the penal code revisions and that the legislature committed to do so. New York State fails to fulfill its obligations to protect all innocent and law-abiding citizens when it shortchanges victims of sexual assault with such important, unfinished business. Completion of SARA should be the number one issue on the legislative agenda. Focus on revision of the civil and criminal statutes of limitations, abuse committed by persons in helping professions, expedited DNA processing and video voyeurism is meaningless when the core language of the sex crimes code is re-victimizing for those who have been violated.

Each year, more than 21,000 individuals are sexually assaulted in New York State. April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. What better time for leadership to focus on the needs of all survivors of sexual violence, by fulfilling the promise they pledged when the Sexual Assault Reform Act was passed three years ago! We need to shout about the silence!

Anne Liske, Executive Director
New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Albany, NY

To the editor:

You’ve got to love people who love their jobs. They’re the ones always willing to go that extra mile and inspire others to do the same.

In my experience, the people who love their jobs the most are the people who do them simply because they want to, without expecting anything in return, except perhaps an occasional thank you: volunteers. There is no better time than National Volunteer Week (April 27 to May 3) to show appreciation for these very special people.

This year, the more than one thousand volunteers at the Wayne Pike Chapter of the American Red Cross have been especially busy. The war in Iraq has created a demand for volunteers to help local military families communicate with their loved one abroad in emergencies. Concerns about homeland security have also inspired Red Cross volunteers to help families take five simple steps to be ready for whatever may happen through the new Red Cross initiative called “Together, We Prepare.”

At the same time, volunteers have continued to provide most of the local Red Cross services our neighbors depend on, from helping families affected by fires and other disasters to teaching classes in first aid, CPR, use of automatic defibrillators, disaster preparedness and international humanitarian law to raising the funds that allow our local Red Cross chapter to provide lifesaving services right here in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The theme of this year’s National Volunteer Week is “Celebrate Volunteers: The Spirit of America.” It recognizes the fact that since the birth of our nation, Americans have set a standard for the world in the generous gift of their time and expertise to improve the lives of others. I would like to thank the volunteers of the American Red Cross and of the many other local organizations with whom we partner every year for working together to make Wayne and Pike Counties a safer place for all of us.

Keith Williams, Board Chairman
Wayne Pike Chapter
American Red Cross
Honesdale, PA