Page 4 - Dinuba Sentinel 5-10-18 E-edition

Opinion
A4 | Thursday, May 10, 2018
Fred Hall - Publisher
In My Opinion
Do we really need more W government workers?
ith a little over one year known as a solidus or having passed since virgule) indicates a the election of Donald choice of the names or
Trump as President of The United States and the Democrats continuing to litigate that historical message to the Washington establishment, we noticed that Bernie Sanders is already beginning to make waves about a 2020 bid for that office.
A major part of Senator Sanders' slate has already been released to the press and polls have been taken at this early stage. The Senator is proposing free college for everyone, free healthcare for everyone, and
a guaranteed wage as well as a guaranteed job for every American. Want to know something scary? The polling which has been done so far indicates that 46 percent of the people agree with his position. Sanders says that if the private sector is unable to provide the jobs the government will make employment available.
Given a choice of continuing to remain on welfare and feed at the public trough wasn't mentioned but it seems to me that the job description of the two is fairly indistinguishable.
I cite this to use as a segue to our recent dealings with one of those agencies which “serves” the public in California.
Over the span of 59 years, during which I have owned and operated a large number of vehicles, there was always a lingering suspicion that employees—and their management—of The Department of Motor Vehicles were trained at a special school which required irrational thinking and
total ignorance of communication skills. Guess what? When I moved to California about 30 years ago all those suspicions were validated. California DMV, you're number one! There should be an award for that because they seem to relish in the obstreperousness displayed toward their customers. Last time I checked, their salaries are paid by those in the public they are supposed to assist.
We found, among numerous other things, that classic grammar usage goes right out the window. Something that is grammatically correct has an entirely different meaning to those people. Case in point would be the use of a slash to separate the names of the two people on a car title. In proper grammar such usage of the slash (also
Guest Column
Chronic Fatigue MSyndrome awareness
Fred Hall
more commonly, the word or. They argued that in DMV language it means and. That left us with the dilemma of having to prove that one of the parties (the husband)
was deceased.
It took three trips to the Department
of Motor Vehicles and numerous
visits with the widow to gather
enough information to gain title to
a $2,500 former church van which
we had purchased for the delivery of newspapers. Their final complaint, before they finally gave up and accepted our money, was that they couldn't be sure it was really the lady's signature although her name had been signed to numerous documents they requested.
This just seemed like an appropriate
time to raise such an issue when
a possible Presidential candidate
has announced that he intends to
campaign on a platform of more
government workers. There is a
whole alphabet soup of these people
who include such “understanding
and cooperative” agencies such as
The Internal Revenue Service and the
Department of Motor Vehicles. They O regulate, dictate and restrict just about
everything that American citizens can
do. Do we really need or want more of
them with their arcane way of thinking
and reasoning?
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the disgust which I feel
every day as I watch the Democrats, the Washington establishment, the press and Robert Mueller's group of biased investigators continue their attempt to destroy Donald Trump, his family, campaign personnel, White House staff and virtually anyone who ever knew him. The damage this aforementioned gang is inflicting is not only professionally but financially and personally as well. Thanks, basically to Rod Rosenstein this group of “character assassins” have been given carte blanche with the Federal treasury to pursue Trump and his allies with no apparent crime or limits.
Fred Hall is the publisher of the Sentinel.
n an average day at the firehouse, the firefighters arrive 20 to 30 minutes early for the 8AM start of their 48-hour shift. They talk to the off-going crew to go over any issues from the previous shift, meet with the shift Captain about his goals for the crew, inspect their vehicles and apparatuses, do training in the afternoon, and at night manage to take a nap.
Since people don’t get hurt on a schedule, firefighters are often breaking their routine to head out on calls – sometimes during the day, but sometimes at night. They run medical aids, put out fires, respond to vehicle accidents, get called out to hazmat situations. The Dinuba Fire Department is also the official confined space rescue team for Northern Tulare County, and occasionally goes on mutual aid assistance calls to other areas. Two Dinuba firefighters even recently rescued a cat from a tree.
With the unpredictable nature of the job, the long shifts, and the sometimes-heartbreaking calls, it is not easy being a firefighter. As one Dinuba Firefighter recently explained: “I’m going to take a lot of things to my grave.” The cases where the firefighters do their best but still lose a patient are tough. Especially hard are
the kid cases, the trauma of which sometimes reappears years after the initial call.
Many Dinuba firefighters have families. When on duty, they miss birthdays and important school events. Being a firefighter could give them the opportunity to spend four days in a row with their spouse and children. But, calls in Dinuba have increased and staffing is on the lean side, so when a firefighter gets sick other firefighters must cover by giving up their time off.
To be an effective firefighter paramedic, one of
the first responders on scene with a chance at saving
an accident victim’s life, they also must take continuing education courses outside of their normal working hours.
It might be hard for the general public to understand how a firefighter could spend so much time away from his or her family and still want to do the job. It might be hard to appreciate how much wear and tear there is on the body that builds up over the years as
Maria McElroy
they carry hundred-pound packs to go into a fire, or the psychology of cleaning hazardous chemicals off their turnouts after a hazmat response.
As one of the firefighters who shared their story with me said: “this is the hardest, best job I’ve ever had. But
I wouldn’t give up the dynamic for the world.” Another of the firefighters said: “I love what I do. I enjoy it.” What firefighters have in common is looking at
Guest Column
Heart of a re ghter
ay 12 is International ME/ is a lot of need. CFS Awareness Day There are a very
What if you suddenly limited number of
their job as an opportunity “to help somebody and make their day better.”
How does a firefighter destress? While on duty, something that helps make it easier for the firefighters to cope with the stresses of their job is that they, as a group, are a family. Firefighters are each other’s mutual support system. When they come back from a difficult call, “hanging out with people who have gone through similar things is better therapy than hanging out with a psychologist.”
The fire station is the firefighters’ home for a few days out of the week, so as the home of their fire family and a public space, they keep it fit for visitors. Each of the firefighters has assigned chores.
Some firefighters destress off duty by taking trips
to the mountains, going fishing, panning for gold, riding bikes, or flying drones, spending time with their families. One of the firefighters who puts in more than 60 hours per week on the job, training for the job, and preparing as best he can to serve the public, said that firefighters must find healthy coping mechanisms – being able to
let go of calls when off the job is key to having a healthy mindset.
If you are having chest pains or stroke-like symptoms, are in an accident or need other emergency services, Dinuba firefighters will do their best to be there for you. One way to ensure that they can be there in an emergency is to call 911 only when it is an emergency. For flus or tummy aches, please contact urgent care or your primary physician. That is how we can take care of those who take care of our community.
Maria McElroy is a Corporate Trainer in Dinuba.
became ill and couldn’t get well?
The feeling that you have the bad flu with all the symptoms, aches and exhaustion but it doesn’t go away? So, you go to the doctor. No common tests show anything. So, you go home to rest. But, you know something
is very wrong, especially since you may feel a little better but quickly
get worse when you try to be active. This goes on for months, as you try to live your life, go to other doctors and pray for help not found. This has led to many becoming housebound and disabled for life. Yes, this is real for an estimated 2.5 million in the US and many more around the world. Many are also living undiagnosed and wondering why they are unable to function. Their “battery” is chronically low. The symptoms can be even worse in some. They have constant pain, weakness, nausea, trouble thinking and pass out upon standing from a comorbid condition called POTS. Severe patients are bed-bound and tube-fed. It is a living nightmare. Some just give up on living and waiting for help.
When this illness struck our
young daughter, we felt sure there would be help. It was quite an odyssey and learning experience! We didn’t know anything and neither
did most doctors! ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) has not been commonly taught in med school until recently. It is believed to be related to neuro-autoimmune issues and inflammation. We were shocked
at the lack of knowledge and care available! We finally went to Sansum Clinic and later Stanford to get
some answers. But there is no cure, just treatment of some symptoms. Stanford now has a CFS Clinic with
a long waiting list. Obviously, there
Joanne Tatum
specialists around the country. Thank God, through our own research we found a great one. Some research studies are currently being conducted that show
promise. Private donations have helped, while the
government funding has been pitifully low. The NIH response
has been seriously underwhelming, while the community of patients has lobbied for change when they are least physically capable. With help from family and friends, they will be rallying around the world on May 12. The largest such effort is called the “Millions Missing” campaign. These patients are missing from school, jobs, communities, and their former lives. This is not acceptable, is it? What if it was you or a loved one? Please learn and help:
To see a great, 2018 Oscar short- listed documentary on a patient, see UNREST. It can be streamed online. Jen Brea, the patient also does a TED Talk on ME/CFS.
Contact the NIH Director, Dr. Francis Collins, and your US Reps to ask for parity for research funding. We have been asking and literally waiting decades for this.
For education and advocacy see MEACTION.net
Donate to ME/CFS research at the Open Medicine Foundation, Simmaron Research and the Solve ME/CFS Initiative.
Joanne Tatum is the parent of an ME/CFS patient, semi-retired school teacher and a Dinuba community volunteer.
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