Letters to the editor

Hospice helps community

Editor:
I just wanted to take a few moments to tell you and the Hartselle community how proud I am to announce Cottage Senior Living’s acquisition of the assisted living residence just north of Hartselle Medical Center, formerly called Sierra Springs.  With the new ownership comes a new name – Columbia Cottage.  Columbia Cottage is the sister community to Country Cottage on Old Moulton Road in Decatur – which you and many other folks may already be familiar with – and is now the 10th community managed by CSL.
I am so proud to continue in my role as managing director at Columbia Cottage, because the Cottage represents the legacy of caring and service that Cottage Senior Living and its owners strive to uphold.  The Cottage’s guiding mission is to provide exceptional care and service to our residents, families and communities by promoting resident individualism, choice and personal dignity in a comfortable, home-like environment.
My staff at Columbia Cottage has worked so hard to make this transition as smooth as possible, and is eager to make our Cottage Home more comfortable and more filled with love than ever before.  I just wanted to thank them for their patience and hard work during this adjustment, and to let them know how proud of them I am!  It is because of hardworking individuals such as these that make the Cottage Family so special.
I would also like to thank the families at Columbia Cottage for being so welcoming and supportive of the new ownership as we all strive to make their loved ones feel loved and cared for.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful residents and families!
There is so much love and happiness at the Cottage that I want to share with everyone in the community.  I want to invite everyone in the Hartselle area to stop by and visit Columbia Cottage to see firsthand what makes our Cottage family so special.  We will even treat our guests with fresh, homemade cookies!
For anyone who has questions about Columbia Cottage, please feel free to call me at (256) 751-4809 and I will be happy to help.
Mary Thomason, ALA
Managing Director
Columbia Cottage

Alcohol vote bad for city

Editor:
The recent vote on the wet/dry referendum shows with clarity that the majority of the voters do not wish to see any future growth of Hartselle’s economic, industrial and job creation sectors. The opponents succeeded with a campaign of spreading an onslaught of “what if’s,” and bundled as much in their fear campaign as to why vote no. Do they really think that by voting down the referendum, this will lower the number of alcoholics, or people that drink socially?
A recent letter to this paper  praised everyone that voted no, but omitted numerous pertinent facts. Their assertions regarding the Bible and alcohol were clearly disingenuous. Also omitted was that one of the foremost reasons the federal government repealed prohibition was that it would create jobs, raise tax revenue, and at the same time,  reduce the number of “stills” across the country.
Governmental study statistics show that the alcohol related incidents, accidents, domestic violence, etc., are higher in localities that are “dry.”  Similar studies also show that whether or not alcohol is readily available at the nearest convenience store, doesn’t change the number of people that are alcoholics. Plain and simple, people who drink will travel anywhere to get their fix. Consequently, not everyone that has a glass of wine, or a beer, or whatever, is an alcoholic.
One thing I noticed after reading this letter was that neither of the two individuals, or anyone from Families for a Safe Hartselle, has offered any alternative in creating jobs, raising tax revenue, or anything productive as to how to move Hartselle into the 21st century.
Lastly, Jim Corum, Eddie Pruitt, Phillip Hines, Walter Blackman, Jeff Johnson and Edith Bennich were just some of the outspoken opponents on the referendum. Maybe we should look to them for the creation of the 550 recently lost jobs in Hartselle!
Mike Dowdy
Hartselle

Caring Day a great success

Editor:
I would like to thank the residents of Hartselle for generously participating in the 11th annual Caring Day. The city of Hartselle collected 9,916 canned goods. This is not an official count because we still have two bins out.
Forty-eight turkeys and one ham have been donated by our merchants and purchased with money donated by civic clubs, companies and churches. The food will be distributed among the Caring Place, the First Church of the Nazarene, Pattillo Street Church of God, and First United Methodist Church food pantries. A very special thank you goes out to Mayor Dwight Tankersley for supporting this event. I would also like to thank Ray Lotter, manager for Hometown Grocery, for working with us to purchase the turkeys. I would like to thank Ace Auto Body for joining us as a drop off location and the Hartselle Enquirer for their generous donation.
I would also like to thank the city employees that worked this year to make this event a success. Byron Turney, Hershel Clemons, Glen Hollingsworth, Phillip Carter, Randy Breeding, Keith Sheppard, Chris Orr, Garland Gilliam, Chris Peterson, Wesley Massey, Roger Aldridge, Charles Woodward, Robert Fricks, Greg Mayfield, David VanKoughnett, Harley Hop, Daryl Turney, Jeremy Griffith, Shawn Woods and Derrick Woodall worked to make sure that all the canned foods were collected and taken to the Caring Place.
Hank Quattlebaum and Tony Kelsoe with the Hartselle Board of Education made things easier with a lift truck. I would also like to thank all the banks in Hartselle for participating again. Crestline School, Barkley Bridge, Burleson, Hartselle Junior High and Hartselle High School came through for us again this year. Crestline collected 2,600 cans. Carolyn Wallace with Hartselle Beautification helped me organize the event and Virginia Alexander with the Caring Place worked hard to be sure that the counting, sorting and distribution went quickly and smoothly. Pastors David Melton, John McPeak and Robert Sparkman also worked on the project.
The event is definitely a community effort with the residents, schools, banks, civic groups and businesses working together to collect canned items. Thank you all for caring!
Susan Seibert
Administrative Clerk
City of Hartselle and Director of Caring Day

Hospice focuses on life

Editor:
Every November Hospice of the Valley reaches out to our community to raise awareness about the compassionate care that hospice and palliative care provide patients and families coping with serious and life-limiting illness.
This month of awareness provides an opportunity for us to remind people that hospice care helps patients and families focus on living.
I as a volunteer, and those who have worked in the field professionally, have seen firsthand how hospice and palliative care can improve the quality of life for patients and their families.  Research shows that families report a better quality of life under hospice and palliative care.  There is a growing body of research showing that hospice and palliative care may prolong the lives of some people who receive this type of care.
The hospice team provides expert medical care to keep patients comfortable and able to enjoy time with loved ones.  They answer questions, offer advice on what to expect, and help families with the duties of being a caregiver.  The team also provides emotional and spiritual support for the entire family.
With the help hospice provides, patients and families alike can focus on what is important to them – living and enjoying life to its fullest.
Avonne T. Shelton
Hospice of the Valley
Volunteer

City better without booze

Editor:
Concerning the wet/dry alcohol vote, there are so many people to thank for helping to keep our families safe in Hartselle. Many worked tirelessly behind the scenes and for those and all of the others who stepped up, we say a special thanks.
To Jeff Johnson, who led our drive, we are aware of the time, money and most of all the courage that it has taken to get things done. You let us to believe and not give up and we all say thank you. I saw the same courage in the early 1980s when Principal J. P. Cain moved to the high school from the junior high.
He met with parents and said drugs would not be sold at the high school if he could do anything about it and he did just that. Fences went up, lockers were checked, parking lots monitored, etc. That helped make Hartselle a lot better place to live and raise a family.
We’ve had good people working towards that effort in the 46 years I have called Hartselle home.
So thanks again to all those that worked and prayed and we will see Hartselle grow without alcohol.
Mavine Springer
Hartselle

Express your thoughts in a Letter to the Editor. Send your thoughts to P.O. Box 929, Hartselle, AL 35640
or email to  news@hartselleenquirer.com. Signed comments can be included as Letters to the Editor; unsigned ones in our  E-Sound Off.