Reader Mail Week of March 27

Reader discusses newspapers, gardens
It sounds like with all the changes being made in newspapers such as having the printing done in Richmond, this sure will be better than not having a newspaper at all and it sounds like it will make the paper a little better for our community in Stafford. I will be glad to continue receiving the newspaper in whatever way the contract decides to go in these tough and ugly economical times. Whatever it takes to improve operating efficiencies is what it takes these days.

[In response to a story written on victory gardens in the Stafford County Sun,] gardening is not only a money-saving, heart healthy therapy but it also saves on medical bills. You get to eat fresh grown food and besides this you are exercising by gardening. Being a master gardener and volunteering at the Stafford Extension Office located in the Rowser Building is wonderful in just helping the community by placing soil kits together in a package and then watching people pick up the kits and doing what has to be done with one’s own soil and earth.

Anna Victoria Reich
Stafford

Big thanks to a local supervisor
I was very pleased to read about the federal and state funding that will be used to purchase Phase 2 of Crow's Nest. Congratulations to Supervisor Paul Milde for being able to reach across party lines and coordinate with our governor the necessary funding to preserve this magnificent natural resource. I keep reading about the politics at the local level and I know being supervisor can't be easy. Maybe it's time we simply thank our officials for all of their hard work on behalf of the people. Supervisor Milde, thank you for fighting to preserve Crow’s Nest and for your ability to get the funds at the state and federal level so that it doesn't deplete our county resources. Thank you for all of your work on the new Stafford Hospital and for helping in the process to allow it to open early. Thank you for your continued efforts to keep Stafford a business-friendly community and for leading the fight against the new business tax (BPOL), which was recently passed. Stafford residents appreciate all of your hard work and positive results. We will be there for you this November!

Kristin Marie Lawrence
Stafford

Reader shares views on new hospital
I am a strong supporter of the Stafford County Hospital campus. It is a great addition to our community. However, there are only 20 beds available for patients. Why is it open now? Who made this decision and on what basis could the decision possibly have been made? The Emergency Room is modern, clean and well-staffed, but can be used for nothing more than a triage. Patients requiring hospitalization must be transferred to Mary Washington or even Potomac. To me this doesn't make a lot of sense. If a person requires emergency treatment for an injury and the Stafford County hospital is the closest facility then it is just the ticket. But, if the patient is suffering from an illness that patient should be taken to a hospital where there is the possibility for continuing care and a hospital bed. For example, on March 15 I had to call for an ambulance to transport my mother-in-law (84 years old) to a hospital. She had fallen from a dizzy spell. When the rescue squad arrived I told them there was a similar incident in January of this year and she spent two weeks at Mary Washington Hospital. A rescue squad member said they would be transporting her to the Stafford County hospital. At the time I thought great it's only 10 minutes from my house and it will be very convenient for visitation. They also said the information pertaining to her January diagnosis would be in the computers at the Stafford County hospital. When we arrived I found the staff to be courteous, friendly, attentive to her needs and professional. They ran tests, took x-rays, etc. and diagnosed low blood pressure, dehydration and renal failure; the same as the January incident. At that point they explained to me that she needed to be hospitalized, however they only had 20 beds and the beds were full, a fact known prior to ambulance transport. I was informed she would have to be transported to Mary Washington Hospital, they would make all the arrangements and there would be no charge for the ambulance. The diagnosis and information I received was at 10:15 p.m. At approximately 5:15 a.m. the next morning she was transported to Mary Washington.

Al Baker
Stafford

State bar: watch dog or guardian?
Is the Virginia State Bar Association a watch dog for the wronged individual or a guardian of unethical and unprofessional lawyers?

The state bar espouses to be a watch dog over the ethical (that which expresses moral approval) and professional (that which exhibits a courteous, conscientious and generally businesslike manner in the workplace) conduct of lawyers who practice law within the Commonwealth. In reality, they are guardians (who are also lawyers) that protect the best interests of lawyers that are accused by aggrieved individuals of misconduct. No misconduct is asserted by the VA State Bar and no further action is levied against the lawyers, who hold themselves to be ‘above the law.’

The only redress left to the aggrieved is a “civil suit” that is expensive, time consuming and out of reach for the working masses. They are victims to the seemingly legal exploitation and persecution of lawyers by their unchecked, unethical, unscrupulous and unprofessional conduct. Lawyers should not be self-serving of their own interests above the inherent rights of the individuals they have taken an oath to represent in an honest and forthright manner.