Article published April 07, 2009
To Bell, firemen on duty 24/7
On a cold, snowy night about seven years ago, I was driving home from the downtown restaurant where I worked. Without warning, my car sputtered to a stop in the left lane of I-475. I was stranded on this bitterly cold night without a cell phone. From nowhere, a vehicle pulled up behind me and the driver got out, flares in hand, and began to assist me. He offered me his cell phone to call my husband and showed me his badge: Fire Chief Michael Bell.
Chief Bell was returning from a social engagement and was dressed in black-tie. Without hesitation, he ushered me into his warm vehicle and called AAA. He seemed oblivious to the fact that the snow, salt, and slush were all over his tux. He positioned the flares around my car and waited with me until the tow arrived.
Chief Bell and his companion then drove me home to Sylvania, a good 20 minutes out of their way. Whenever I recount this story to those who know Chief Bell, the standard response is “Yep, that’s Michael Bell for you.” His kindness and generosity that night will never be forgotten.
Apparently Chief Bell is never “off duty.” I thank you again, Chief Bell, and I wish you success in your candidacy for mayor of Toledo.
Marissa Harrington
Springbrook DriveKonop’s obvious try to get votes
Now again comes the wannbe mayor, Ben Konop, portraying himself not too subtly as a martyr for minorities by giving up his seat on the Lucas County planing commission for a person or color, or otherwise, and referring to other board member(s) as racist.
Is that not an obvious grovel for votes or what?
If a politician can’t convince his constituents with a platform based on real problems remedied by his exemplary performance, intelligence, and abilities, instead of conjuring up solutions to the obvious and mundane in order to grab second-section Blade headlines, he’s not the person to move Toledo forward.
To those noting the address below: As Toledo goes, so go the suburbs.
Bob Dietrich
LambertvilleAn enlightened electorate is vital
A needless controversy seems to be taking much of your space concerning the stimulus package of the administration taking the country towards socialism. We don’t even have central planning in controlling the means of production nor any talk of price control.
The deliberate spread of fear helped the previous administration to give a free hand for the pursuit of unparalleled greed in which millions were mismanaged and lost by those said to be in charge of a free enterprise system. Government was and is the solution and not the problem, as was espoused. The very same men who landed the country in this mess now demand that the government bail them out. When taxpayer money is doled out and attempts are made to salvage the situation, lo and behold, paranoia again surfaces, screaming “socialism.”
As for socialism, the father of capitalism, Adam Smith, rightly said, “Where there is no property … civil government is not so necessary. Civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defense of the rich against the poor, or those who have some property against those who have none at all.”
Smith originated not socialism but actually communism. It was his work, and that of David Ricardo, that ultimately produced a footnote known as Das Capital by Karl Marx. It will take at least two semesters of graduate study of the history of economic thought concentrating on the labor theory of value to understand this before we go ranting about socialism.
Our salvation depends on an enlightened electorate.
Vadaken N. Krishnan
Bowling GreenAny head injury needs attention
The tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson underscores the need for vigilance after any type of head injury, especially sports-related injuries.
March was designated as Brain Injury Awareness Month, and this year’s focus was on sports and concussions. During a radio interview shortly after Ms. Richardson’s accident, Dr. Greg O’Shanick, medical director for the Brain Injury Association of America, highlighted the importance of monitoring anyone who suffers a head injury.
Teammates, coaches, family members, and acquaintances should look for any changes that would indicate a need to seek further medical attention. Danger signals include changes in behavior, increased agitation, repetitive speech patterns, vision and memory problems, and a headache of increasing intensity. Dr. O’Shanick also strongly emphasized the use of helmets during any type of sports activity.
Most concussions do not involve lost of consciousness, and you can sustain a concussion even if you do not hit your head directly. An indirect blow elsewhere on the body can transmit an “impulsive” force to the head and cause a concussion to the brain. Also, contrary to popular belief, concussions typically do not appear in neuro-imaging studies such as MRI and CAT scans.
Additional information about brain injury-related issues, including the interview with Dr. O’Shanick, may be found on the Brain Injury Association of America’s Web site, www.biausa.org. Locally, individuals may contact the Area 1 Office of the Brain Injury Association of Ohio, 419-380-5110.
Christine Veronie
Area coordinator
Brain Injury Association of Ohio
ToledoHigher learning or not at BGSU?
As a full-time student at the Bowling Green State University Firelands campus and an active member of the community, I am disheartened by the censorship that has recently taken place in the Little Gallery. The removal of “The Middle School Science Teacher Makes a Decision He’ll Live to Regret” from the James Parlin exhibition sets a dangerous precedent for the removal of controversial works at the peril of academic inquiry itself.
For me, the heart of the issue is this: Is the university a business, as one fellow student I spoke with suggested? Or is it an institution of higher learning, as I have always believed? If the university is a business, an entity that merely exchanges money for degrees and considers customer satisfaction to be of the utmost importance, then the decision to censor a controversial piece of art makes perfect sense. However, if the university is an institution of higher learning which, as suggested in the “BG Experience” program guidelines, encourages and expects critical thinking from its students, then the administration has done a serious disservice to the learning process.
The actions of the administration regarding this matter are an affront to thinking persons. The mission statement claims that the university requires students to “examine the role values play in decision-making … evaluate, explore, and build on their own personal beliefs.” If BGSU is no longer a place to examine and analyze society, but rather one where we are taught to bow to its pressures, the community needs to be made aware of this so that it may choose whether to spend its money — and its time — elsewhere.
Tina J. Bentley
PresidentRush: The pope of pomposity
With Rush Limbaugh occupying the position of Pope-Godfather of the Republican Party, you must wonder about its success.
John A. Galbraith
Maumee
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