Saturday, May 25, 2013
This summer, please make donating blood a priority on your "to do" list.
American Red Cross blood drives, like this at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland in 2010, offer an easy way to be a life saver.
File Photo/John Patriquin
Our summer blood inventory levels can fall to critical levels, leaving patients without the blood products they so desperately need.
Talk to a blood recipient, and they will most likely share their stories of hope and appreciation about the "gift of life" provided by a volunteer blood donor.
As an employee of the American Red Cross, I am thankful for our dedicated donors who help maintain our New England blood and platelet inventory.
Recently, I was privileged to be assigned to a blood drive in honor of a little girl diagnosed with aplastic anemia. This child receives blood and platelets every week.
It was an emotional day with a great response from the community, and we successfully collected 88 units of blood. This little girl is an inspiration; yet unfortunately, she knows more about veins and blood products than any child should have to know.
Don't wait until it hits home for you to donate. Make a difference today and make time to donate. For information, call 1-800-482-0743.
Cindy Frye
team supervisor, American Red Cross
South Portland
Unfair tolls part of reason turnpike should be free
Most of the USA has an excellent free superhighway system. Maine had to go to a toll system. At first, you paid by the mile and it was fair. It has turned into a very unfriendly, unfair system.
You can go on the Internet to see how unfair it is. If you drive from York to Portland, it will cost $2. When you come back to York, it will cost not $2, but $3, for a total of $5.
Go up the road to Wells (12 miles): The round trip is $2. You can pay as little as $0.023 and as much as $0.50 per mile.
You do get a very slight discount if you have a Maine E-ZPass. If a commuter travels 38 miles and exits through York, the quarterly rate is $127.50. He can travel 44 miles and exit at Wells for $58.50. Why?
A three-axle truck pays $6 north from York to Gray, but going south, it is $9. The millions of dollars that the trucks pay are passed on to the consumer. The many dollars the commuter pays are taken away from the local businesses.
You may never come within 50 miles of the turnpike, but if you work or shop in Maine, you are helping to pay the tolls.
It is past time that the tollbooths be removed and this be made a free highway operated by the Department of Transportation.
Curtis Chapman
Kittery
Americans should demand release of report on torture
The Maine Council of Churches has long been a leader in the faith community as an advocate for an end to torture.
Our members' shared belief that God created humankind in God's image leads us to the conviction that torture of another human being is a moral wrong. As citizens, we know that the health and integrity of our democracy require open and public investigations of misdeeds by our government, with truth and reconciliation as the goal.
We are grateful that in 2009, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence began an investigation into CIA interrogation practices during the period 2001 to 2008, including the use of torture.
Committee investigators reviewed millions of pages of documents in order to produce a comprehensive report on the specific interrogation practices of the CIA and the results of those practices.
(Continued on page 2)
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