Letters to the editor for Sunday, March 30, 2014

Honor God whether you succeed or fail

I applaud all the Christian athletes who are not afraid of their faith and point to the heavens when they hit a home run in baseball or catch a pass in football. However, whenever they strike out in baseball or drop a pass in football, they still should point to the heavens. We praise and honor God when we succeed and when we fail.

Mike Timmerman

Dayton

Seeking information about neighbor state

Hello, my name is Jorge Martinez. I am a fifth grader at Napa Valley Language Academy in Napa, Calif. The reason I am writing to you is that my class is doing state reports and I have chosen your magnificent state, Nevada. I would really like it if you posted my letter in your newspaper so that I can get all the help I need for my report.

What I need from you or your readers are pamphlets, postcards, souvenirs or anything that would be useful, to be sent to Napa Valley Language Academy, c/o Mrs. Dearborn, 2700 Kilburn Ave., Napa, Calif. 94558. I will be writing about your state’s agriculture, history, economy, famous people, events, historical figures and national parks. I will also be doing an oral report, poster and Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.

Thank you for your support and help in making me a great researcher of your astounding state.

Jorge Martinez

Napa, Calif.

Fraud is unavoidable, doesn’t invalidate ACA

This is in reply to the letter of George Groth in the Appeal of March 25.

There are thousands of Americans and American families who benefit or will benefit from the Affordable Care Act; however, just as with Social Security benefits and with Medicare and Medicaid, there will always be some cases of fraud. This does not mean that Social Security, the ACA or any other established public service should be abolished. The extent of fraud is always minuscule in these programs, compared with the large proportion of our population in need of these services, often in dire need, and the ACA is a life saver for many.

Even “bums” and “illegal aliens” are morally entitled to basic health care, regardless of fault and regardless of where they are in the world. As Americans, we should not shirk our obligation to help people in need.

Andy Harold

Carson City

Follow safety tips to avoid driving disaster

There were nearly 600 crashes in Nevada road work zones in 2013, many caused by unsafe driving. In fact, tragedy struck last year when an inattentive motorist hit and killed two Nevada Department of Transportation contractors and seriously injured a third while they were making improvements to Interstate 80 in northeastern Nevada. Also, an NDOT maintenance employee is still recovering from serious injuries after being struck while working on a Fallon-area state roadway last summer.

This summer, you’ll see many vital road improvements underway from NDOT and our partners. Among other NDOT projects, we’ll be making improvements to U.S. 50 in Mound House. Transportation projects like these bring benefits. They improve our commutes and quality of life; they even enhance our economy and provide jobs.

While road projects and accompanying work zones aim to improve your commute, unsafe driving can lead them to become a place where lives are changed forever. It is in recognition of everyone impacted by work zone crashes that I share these reminders: Please always buckle up. Keep additional space between your car and others. Most importantly, take it slow, obey posted speed limits in road work zones, and pay attention. You can visit nevadadot.com/safety for more tips.

April 7-11 is National Work Zone Awareness Week. During the week and throughout the year, I hope you will follow these simple safety tips to help make our road work zones a safe place, and help Nevada reach our goal of zero fatalities on our roads.

Rudy Malfabon

Director, Nevada Department of Transportation

Limit Opinion page to rational thoughts

Regarding Rosalee Barnwell Hinton’s right to free speech, of course she has the right say what she wants. It’s not a matter of what she says but where she says it; wouldn’t it be better if the Nevada Appeal allowed her to proselytize her belief in the King James Bible and denigrate “non believers” on the Appeal’s Faith and Insight pages rather than the editorials? If the Appeal agrees with her opinions or feels they are of true interest to their readers, I think those pages would be a more appropriate place for her rambles.

I feel the editorial page should at least attempt to be a place where rational thoughts about current issues can be expressed, not as a board to repeatedly force one’s narrow Biblical views of the world onto the paper’s readers to the point of absurdity.

Richard Vadenais

Minden