Trained professionals needed to patrol schools
To the editor:
In response to Sunday’s letter to the editor from Bradley Kuhns, who advocated having private security guards take over the function of the Clark County School District police:
I am a retired police lieutenant from a city in the northeast United States. Mr. Kuhns’ suggestion is totally absurd. It has been tried in other areas, and failed.
The city where I worked had to replace private security personnel with qualified police officers because the private security guards were not trained to patrol schools and did not have authority to make arrests. The school district police in Clark County are all post-certified and trained to handle situations that arise in the schools.
If the schools were not properly patrolled by qualified officers such as we have here in Clark County, the risk for a Columbine-style massacre happening here would be great. The school district police are doing a fine job and have made numerous arrests for weapons violations already this year.
Mr. Kuhns should do his homework before critiquing the school police.
Jim Dill
Las Vegas
On prayer
To the editor:
The Saturday Washington Post article on the National Prayer Breakfast, reprinted in the Review-Journal, cited a “fact” that “evangelical Christians tend to back Republicans, while Democrats have more support among voters who rarely attend services.”
The Review-Journal published a Friday article on the same event on Mark Kelly, astronaut husband of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who said, “That reminded me that you don’t need a church, a temple or a mosque to pray. … You don’t even need a building or walls or even an altar. You pray where you are. You pray when God is there in your heart.”
More of us need to pray from our own heart, rather than do what religious leaders tell us we need to do when we go to the polls. The religious right has learned how to manipulate their sheep to its political end, something God frowns upon: idol worship.
Our political leaders are sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, not a particular religious ideology. The Founding Fathers knew there were various Jewish, Muslim, Christian and other denominations that revere our creator; and as we worked for the good of all, established in the seven pillars of our Constitution, this nation would survive triumphant on those principles.
All men are created equal. As Mr. Kelly said, you pray from your heart, when God is there, not some political hack, and you don’t need no stinkin’ building to make it righteous.
Sandra Miner
Las Vegas
Ouch!
To the editor:
In response to your stories about sick leave abuse within the Clark County Fire Department:
What is the difference between a Clark County firefighter and a bank robber? The firefighter gets away with more money.
Dennis Hetherington
Las Vegas
Spending priorities
To the editor:
According a recent report from the Children’s Defense Fund, Nevada is spending $16,545 annually per prisoner. Our state’s annual expenditure per student is reported at $7,177. Is there a link between the low financial commitment to our children’s education and the high cost of prison?
Nevada ranks 45th among the states in per-pupil spending. Our dropout rate is one of the worst in the country. Is there a link between our financial commitment to our children and our embarrassing dropout ranking?
We all know that money doesn’t solve everything. But there is something to that old adage, “Put your money where your mouth is.” If we truly care about our children’s future and are not just spouting political rhetoric, we must invest in our children now so they are well-educated and able to solve the problems of the future.
Midge Turner
Las Vegas
UMC plan
To the editor:
In response to the Feb. 1 article on University Medical Center by Paul Harasim, in which he describes yet another consultant study of the hospital:
I am a former member of the UMC staff, executive committee, various hospital committees and chief of staff (1973-1990).
When will the County Commission stop throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars into studies that accomplish nothing? The solutions to UMC’s future are very well-defined:
1. Philanthropic support will materialize when the county gets out of the hospital business. That was shown with the annual telethon that raised approximately $9 million in cash for the hospital over 18 years.
2. Strong leadership is needed to overcome the specialized interests of the medical community, political interests and university turf battles. Start by acquiring free land from the BLM for a University of Health Sciences (within the state’s university system), located in Southern Nevada. This would be the prelude to UMC becoming an adjunct campus and part of the higher education system. The county would phase out of the hospital business.
3. UMC needs a M.D. hospital administrator to raise the bar, better network and more efficiently run the UMC complexes.
Don’t spend any more money and time kicking the can down the road. The solutions are obvious and doable.
Let’s get on with it.
Leonard Kreisler
Las Vegas
