Tuesday, December 1, 1998

Cigarettes too high

I would like to know why cigarettes are going up so high. This to me is one of the most outrageous things I have ever heard of.

Doesn't it seem a little odd that you can go into any grocery store or convenience store in this city and probably any city in America and purchase a cheap six-pack of beer or maybe even some cheap wine for less than a pack of cigarettes?

And of course, the people who decided on this increase are only doing it for our own good !

Well, I would like to ask these same people what about the family that gets wiped out by the drunkard who just purchased that $2.50 wine. Don't their lives matter?

All you ever hear any more is how bad smoking is for your health, and I know it is. But I also know liquor can be, and in most cases is, just as bad if not worse. For $2.50 you can kill a whole family, and this does not bother our government in the least bit. But they will step right up and throw an increase on cigarettes because it is bad for our health. This is absurd!

NICLOLE CHEVRIE

Abilene

Via e-mail

Bonds too costly

What you do not mention in all your articles that we need to pass these bond issues because we need them so badly is the fact that paying for city expenses with bond issues costs the taxpayer about twice as much (depending on the interest rate and the length of time to pay the debt back) as when city improvements are paid with the tax money coming in regularly.

When our city says our bonded indebtedness is not as big as that in other cities and therefore we are justified in passing this bond issue, that reminds me of a couple who think they can act rich by buying everything with a credit card, even though the couple has a regular income. Such couples often wind up with broken marriages and in bankruptcy.

The Civic Center should pay its own upkeep and upgrading from its own revenue.

Since the bond issue will mean a "small tax increase" anyway, why not have the City Council members vote for that amount of tax increase and use it to attend to streets and parks and senior citizens one by one as the money is there, all paid without any additional interest expense?

MRS. L. G. HARDWICKE

Abilene

Via e-mail

Learning CPR

Cardiovascular diseases are the No. 1 killer of Americans, and heart attacks are the leading cause of all cardiovascular disease deaths. Sudden cardiac death is the first, last and only symptom in one-third of these patients.

Because of the increased number of cardiovascular disease and its life-threatening effects, the American Heart Association in 1973 declared cardiopulmonary resuscitation a first aid procedure that should be taught to th general public.

CPR is the process of externally supporting the circulation and respiration of a person who has had a cardiac arrest. CPR must be initiated within 4-6 minutes of cardiac or pulmonary arrest because brain cells begin to die within six minutes of an absence of oxygen. So rapid intervention is the key to success and is critical in preventing biologic death or the death of brain cells.

The American Heart Association reports that almost 490,000 persons die each year from heart attacks. You never know when and it could be one of your loved ones that goes into cardiac arrest at a moment's notice. We owe it to loved ones and ourselves to learn CPR. What you can learn in a few hours from a class could possibly save someone's life. I urge you to contact the American Heart Association and find out how you can become certified in CPR.

HEATHER PARSONS

Albany