Letters to the Editor

Dear editor, No one should be vaccinated against their will.  No one should be prevented from expressing their animosity toward vaccination mandates – including by means of open public protest.  And no one but the anti-vaxxer should suffer the consequences, i.e., bear the costs when their righteous path takes a bad turn.  Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a vast majority of those hospitalized and dying have been unvaccinated.  At first this was understandable, as there existed no proven means of immunization.  What’s occurring today though, is harder for most of us to understand.  In the face of a deadly, highly transmittable virus, an alarming number are asserting their right to reject a proven safeguard and instead, take their chances.    As a result, our healthcare system is being stretched, and in some places overwhelmed, by patients who could have easily avoided their illness.  And the urgency of the COVID-19 cases reaching our hospitals and clinics often vaults those patients to the front of the line, postponing treatments for others.  Doubtless, the enormous expense of all this will translate into higher insurance and Medicare premiums for all of us.  What the anti-vaxxers may like to think of as bold risk-taking is really not so bold when there’s someone else to sweep up your mess.  When there are medical professionals willing to sacrifice time with their families, if not their own mental health, to make sure help is there when you need it.  When other workers and employers across the country are contributing to insurance pools while the much-maligned government guarantees Medicare, Medicaid and unemployment benefits.  Those who choose the ventilator or enlist in the One Million Dead club have the right to do so.  The rest of us have the right to demand that they pay cash and go to the back of the line.  What a demonstration of true commitment that would be.  Michael Brandt  Arena   Dear editor, Have you ever wondered why the utility companies keep spending money on the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line when a federal judge has stopped the line from crossing the Mississippi River, putting the whole project in doubt? In addition, a lawsuit in the state courts may end the project altogether. According to reports filed with the Public Service Commission (PSC), as of December 31, 2021, the utilities have spent over $94 million on “construction” in Wisconsin (i.e., cutting down trees, destroying farmland and wildlife habitats) and are moving ahead with plans to spend an additional $344 million. Aren’t they concerned about losing all that money if they lose their court case? Not at all. You see, it is your money they are spending, not theirs. If the line never gets built, they will recover all of their investment from the higher bills utility customers are forced to pay. If they win their court case, you will be paying even more for a costly transmission line that even the PSC’s own staff consider unnecessary. Either way you lose. Don’t like these odds? Go to DriftlessDefenders.com and help us change them. Allen Pincus Barneveld     Dear editor, Four years ago on my 80th birthday was the first time I’d ever heard of pickle ball.  It’s a very popular sport in California and our daughter Pam had a beautiful court in her San Diego, California, back yard.  I, as a former tennis player, thought “Wow!  This really looks like fun!”  And it is!  It’s a great game for all ages so I truly hope  you’ll support the fundraising for the three pickle call courts being planned in North Park, Spring Green.  They’ll be a great addition to our community! 100 percent deductible donations can be donated on line to “Springgreencourts.com or by check and mail:  Make check out to:  River Valley Commons and mail to Peoples Community Bank, 166 S Lexington St., Spring Green, WI, 53588.  You (and we) will be glad you did!   Jan Swenson Arena