Dear Editor,
Concerning the local vaccine event in Marfa: Look, I know, even though we are trying our hardest to provide vaccines, that some people will feel left out and there could be hard feelings.
All of the participating organizations are endeavoring to provide vaccinations to all our local citizens equally without discriminating between individuals. Our hands are tied as per Texas state mandate of 1B persons vaccinated at this time. If individuals do not qualify at this time, they will be required to wait until those with most need are vaccinated first, and then the list of eligible people expands as per the CDC/NIH and the State of Texas guidelines.
Marfa Clinic is honored to serve our community and region, please be patient with our efforts in performing this herculean lift.
Don Culbertson PA-C Marfa Clinic
Marfa
Dear Editor,
“Observe and report.”
That guiding principle of journalism shines through in the interview with Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault this week. They allowed three high school students featured in their documentary “At the Ready” to tell their own stories. I’m sure the film will be fascinating, more so because it is the students’ stories, not the filmmakers’. What brings our law enforcement officers to seek such a career, challenging, rewarding, dangerous, and often misunderstood, is a subject worthy of exploration. Thanks to our own Marfa journalists for their effort.
Dick DeGuerin
Marfa
Dear Editor,
The city of Presidio’s public library access catalog is available for borrowing library materials from our library’s collection at our website http://presidiolibrary.org. Though we are currently not offering interlibrary loans due to the pandemic, you may browse our online catalog and make your book or DVD selections by calling the library. I will gladly loan out the books and DVDs, and we are offering curbside service, which means there’s no in-person contact. Bestsellers are available upon request, and I am happy to assist you with any questions you may have. We have services available such as copies and faxes, so please email your documents to the library’s e-mail and I will provide curbside service for you to pick them up.
Any new residents to Presidio may fill out a library card application with a picture ID by requesting an application. Teachers may borrow for their classrooms.
Please call the library for more information 432- 229-3317 or email presidiolibrary@presidiotx.us. Our fax number is 432-229-4640 if you need to receive a fax. The library is closed to the public, but we are accepting calls, emails and requests for assistance every Monday to Friday, 9 a.m to 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. We all want to be safe in our community. Let’s all practice social distancing, face coverings and hand washing to help stop the spread. The sooner we all take part in keeping our community safe and people in good health, the sooner we will all benefit from a safer working and social environment in the community. I look forward to assisting you.
Sincerely,
Carmen Elguezabal, Librarian
Presidio
Dear Editor,
“Here’s how we move forward.” The partial title of Congressman Tony Gonzalez’s op-ed last week indicates he knows a reasonable way to achieve unity and cooperation among our warring political parties. Considering his past comments, I read his “solution” more out of curiosity than optimism.
After a bit of patriotic sounding self-promotion –– nothing wrong with that –– he got to his “solution,” beginning with: “We must…figure out how it all went so wrong,” referring, I think, to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Let’s not pretend we don’t know “how it went so wrong,” when everyone in the country already knows: the president, his enablers in Congress, popular right-wing media and scores of insignificant lackeys lied for two months about the outcome of the November election and Trump’s angry far-right white supremacist base ate up every lie. Fact: over 60 judges threw out election-related lawsuits and the election officials of every state certified the election results. If Congressman Gonzales doesn’t understand those facts, then I suggest he is not smart enough to be in congress.
Then he said, “We need a steady hand to calm the unrest in our nation.” I agree, but first we need every elected Republican, regardless of office, state, or popularity, including Mr. Gonzales, to publicly and emphatically acknowledge that the election was not “stolen” and that Trump (and all the others) lied about the outcome. I’ll not hold my breath until that happens.
And finally he said, “I believe that when Congress moves on from this vote (on impeachment) we can come together again.” As most of us know, that is Rebublican-speak for “let’s get out of this mess as fast as we can without accepting any responsibility for anything.” If our newly elected congressman goes to the family of murdered Capitol policeman Brian Sicknick and to the families of the 140 or so other police officers injured by the insurrectionist mob on January 6 and gets them all to agree that “moving on” without accountability is best for the country, then I will concede that he is on the right track.
Until then, as I see it, his solution to “how we move forward” is nothing but crap.
Fred Gossien
Terlingua
Dear Editor,
We are writing to share our experience of getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Our clinic, Big Bend Regional Health Center Clinic, called us on Friday to set an appointment for the vaccination and gave clear instructions. Saturday morning, January 30, we arrived at the hospital parking lot entrance and were greeted by the CEO of the hospital who welcomed us, checked our appointment status and directed us to supervised parking. At the clinic entrance to the building, we waited for less than a minute and were brought inside to the hallway where there were six well-spaced chairs. After waiting there a little longer, we were taken into the clinic where our paperwork was checked and insurance noted. We then were vaccinated. We were escorted to a supervised waiting room where we sat for 10 minutes to assure we had no negative reaction. Prior to exiting the clinic area we were given our vaccination cards and our next appointments. Outside, a golf cart waited to take us back to our vehicle.
Take-aways that we would like to emphasize are that this was a highly and skillfully organized set of procedures staffed with wonderful people, all of whom were warm and supportive. The experience took approximately 30 minutes from arrival to departure. At no time did we have to wait long or stand, which should reassure those like ourselves that are older that this is easily done. Twenty-four hours after the injection, we were over the little bit of soreness at the site and mild fatigue we had experienced.
We would like to thank the hospital and clinic staff and the volunteers for their care and support. They helped us to begin to feel reintegrated into the community and we are grateful. Indeed, we received two shots in the arm!
Sincerely,
Clifford and Luanne Hirsch
Alpine
Dear Editor,
On January 4, 2021, a Texas Democratic congresswomen introduced H.R. 127. It’s called the “Firearm Licensing and Registration Act.” I suggest that all Texans and Americans become aware of what’s being proposed. You can find it online by searching H.R. 127. Due to the lengthy 18 pages of H.R. 127, I’ll only list highlights here that you might find interesting. 1. H.R. 127 proposes registration of all firearms and ammunition with the U.S. attorney general. 2. Your license will require supplying the AG with the makes, models, serial numbers, owner’s identity, date firearms were acquired, and where firearms will be kept. 3. You’ll be required to maintain a license designed to expire, along with an insurance policy, both issued by the AG with an $800 price tag tied to it. 4. Licensing will require both a criminal background check and a psychological evaluation. 5. A separate license is required for any firearm the AG defines as a military-style weapon. 6. A database will be kept and that database will be available to the public, federal, state and local governments. 7. You can be fined up to $100,000 and jailed for up to 25 years for non-compliance.
The Australians did a similar gun control thing a few years back. Wealthy private property owners and their employees inadvertently became the bulk of legal firearm carriers outside of government. The Mexican government has a similar policy requiring an approval to own firearms. Anyone familiar with today’s Mexico knows how well that’s working out for them. For those who know European history, you might recognize the similarity of those proposed actions to actual actions taken by a German government in the first half of the 20th century. First they did registration and then came the confiscation. That German regime was slated to endure for a thousand years, it lasted twelve. May God help us to save Texas and America.
James R. Le Blanc
Fort Davis
Dear Editor,
I would like to thank Big Bend Regional Health Center for their organized and efficient handling of inoculating members of the public with the COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday. The staff was helpful and friendly, including those organizing parking out front and offering golf-cart rides back to the cars as needed, those organizing socially-distanced waiting once inside the building, others giving the shots or letting us know when our post-shot waiting time was up, and still others giving us return date reminders as we exited. Thanks to all for being there on a Saturday to serve the community, and for keeping us all calm with your cheery attitudes. Also appreciated are those who made the calls to let all of us know that we were on the list to receive shots.
Another Health Center-related thank you goes out to the Escovar family, who will be leaving us for another adventure in healthcare service elsewhere. While in Alpine, doctors Rafael and Ekta Escovar worked long days bringing adults and children in our community excellent medical care. In addition, Dr. Ekta Escovar helped us stay healthier with the creation of the parks organization that brought playgrounds to our neighborhoods. She also worked to help us all as the volunteer public health service expert on COVID-19 issues in our region. Thank you for all your good works, and best wishes for all that lies ahead.
Sincerely,
Helen Snook
Alpine