I want to commend Margo Pierce for her outstanding article on ending emotional abuse (“Heart Attack,” issue of Dec. 5-11). I also thank CityBeat for bringing attention to such an important and often ignored issue. The fact that this story made the cover shows that you understand the severity of this issue, and I applaud you.
Abuse that doesn’t leave a physical scar often goes unrecognized not only by the public but also by the victim and the abuser themselves. Hopefully, after reading this article, people who have not experienced emotional abuse will be more sensitive to the issue, and emotional abuse victims (who might or might not have even realized that they’re being abused) will be inspired to find ways to escape the cycle.
— Jennifer Dalton, Northside
Keep Parks for Public
During elections, we all pay attention to who the candidates are and what they have done and plan to do. The key phrase here is “what they have done.” For our current lawmakers, we tend to judge them after they have done their deed, but we should pay attention to what they’re doing and let them know what we think before they do any real damage.
Currently, Senate Bill 193 and House Bill 193 are up for a vote by our legislature in Columbus. This bill would open Ohio parks to cutting and drilling.
Some of the parks slated for the “axe” are Sharon Woods Gorge and Nature Preserve in Hamilton County, Hueston Woods State Park in Butler and Preble counties, East Fork State Park and Wildlife Area in Clermont County, Stonelick State Park in Clermont County, Caesar Creek State Park and Gorge in Warren County and Shawnee State Park and Forest in Adams and Scioto counties.
Our state parks are a legacy that’s been handed down to us and, hopefully, that we’ll be handing down to our children and grandchildren. In Ohio, only 3 percent of the land comprises our state parks and state-owned land.
Our lawmakers feel that going into our parks will help alleviate the cost of oil and timber. This is a short-term resolution for a problem that will not go away. I would expect our legislature to think more long-term than their term limits and promote energy efficiency and alternative usage.
There are other forms of energy out there, and hopefully with the passage of State Issue 1 alternative forms of energy qualify as a technologically advanced industry. Rather than taking away the citizens inheritance, our government should be enticing these types of industries to Ohio.
— Constance Lighthall, New Richmond
Break Chains of PD
Daily headlines, news programs and blogs are full of references to torture and political prisoners in the Middle East. However, there is a different but nonetheless very real form of pain and imprisonment happening here at home that’s caused by the steadily increasing muscle rigidity, debilitating slow movements, often-violent tremors and other incapacitating symptoms of the incurable Parkinson’s disease (PD).
The second-most common neurodegenerative disease that affects more than 1 million Americans and their families, PD has been linked with a number of professions: farmers, welders and teachers, among others. It does not exempt our neighbors from its clutches.
My husband Jerry was diagnosed in 1979. He was able to work until 1988, when he couldn’t work because of falling and unable to move at times. He therefore went on Medicare and also had brain surgery for his Parkinson’s in 1997. This is a terrible disease, such a burden on the patient and entire family.
Another compelling story belongs to U.S. Rep. Morris K. Udall, a Democrat from Arizona who was loved and respected by colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Udall, who lived with PD for almost 20 years, was one of the most productive and respected members of Congress in the 20th century, serving in the House of Representatives from 1961 to 1991. It was this deep admiration for “Mo” Udall and a growing desire to focus resources on fighting PD that led to the introduction of the Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Research Act of 1997.
Congress went on to pass the legislation in 1998, which led to the creation of 12 Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Centers of Excellence and authorized increased funding and a coordinated Parkinson’s disease research program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The original Udall Act funded several advances in efforts to find the cause, treatments and a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Important research conducted at Udall Centers include discovering genes that may cause PD, conducting clinical trials of possible new therapies, determining why people get PD and finding better ways to diagnose the disease.
Yet eight years of research have not yet answered such basic questions as “How many Americans have Parkinson’s disease?” “What do they have in common?” “Why do they have the disease?” and “What treatments will make their lives better?”
To honor Udall’s life and memory, Rep. Lane Evans (D-Ill.), who also has PD, introduced the Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Act Amendments of 2005. This legislation could provide the key that will release me and my family, along with millions of others, from the physical and emotional pain of the disease and its crippling financial consequences. HR 3550 does not call for additional funding but would require the various Udall centers to work more closely and compel the NIH to focus more of its Parkinson’s disease resources on finding better treatments and a cure.
— Sandy Wuest, Lawrenceburg
Correction
A holiday calendar listing for the Midnight Muse “enchantments” store ran outdated location details. You can find them at the Tower Place Mall, Skywalk Level, Downtown. Contact them at 513-721-3160 or via www.midnight-muse.com.
This article appears in Dec 14-20, 2005.