• Only person to blame is yourself • Data to be collected, but reports point to problems Only person to blame is yourself Thank you Kurt Last for your letter in the Sunday Garden Isle regarding individuals that blame police when they get caught
• Only person to blame is yourself • Data to be collected, but reports point to problems
Only person to blame is yourself
Thank you Kurt Last for your letter in the Sunday Garden Isle regarding individuals that blame police when they get caught breaking the law.
You are correct. I also welcome Dr. Saponaro to rethink his position and return to our beautiful island. He got caught breaking the law and the police are only enforcing what rules are in place.
In addition, I’d like to mention the letter published the day after Saponaro’s from a resident that also thinks the police are out of line in giving out traffic tickets.
She got one for texting and knew of another individual that was driving without a seat belt and while asking the police a question told her to put it on. The horror. If you have a problem with the laws, try and change them.
Otherwise it’s up to individuals to man up when they get caught doing something they know they should not.
It’s called living in a civilized society and it’s about respect. Personal responsibility is tough sometimes but it will make us all better citizens. Thank you.
Gayle Hughes
Kalaheo
Data to be collected, but reports point to problems
In the TGI Sept.16 letter from Dr. Graham Chelius, he said, “There is not an increased rate of cardiac defects of any kind on the Westside of Kauai.”
He then went on to reference the state’s birth defect registry.
According to a letter I received from the director of the state Department of Health on July 1, the state is working hard to bring current the most recent few years of Kauai data, however 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 and 2013 remain incomplete. Data collection from 2010–2012 and input for Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital is complete and for Wilcox Hospital they have completed 2010–2011.
However “records have yet to be analyzed by a geneticist.” According to the letter the SDOH is also trying “to ascertain if Kauai babies were transferred before birth to other birthing facilities in Hawaii.”
I sincerely hope Dr. Chelius is correct.
However, other physicians on Kauai’s Westside have submitted public testimony indicating their increased concern about high birth defect rates and the need for further investigation into this area.
Thus, the urgency that the SDOH has now placed on updating the birth defect registry.
Numerous Kauai physicians from Kauai’s Westside and from all around our island testified in support of the passage of Bill 2491 (now Ordinance 960).
A majority of Kauai pediatricians signed a letter in support and the Hawaii Nurses Association and the Hawaii State Teachers Association both supported passage of this measure.
The American Academy of Pediatrics in a national report specifically recommends the key components contained within Ordinance 960 — basic disclosure and buffer zones.
The American Cancer Institute and other extremely credible organizations have reported extensively on the negative health and environmental impacts of long-term pesticide exposure.
The research is clear — people who live and work in areas that are subject to regular pesticide use have higher rates of various ailments including certain cancers.
The Environmental Protection Agency reports: “Laboratory studies show that pesticides can cause health problems, such as birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and other effects that might occur over a long period of time.”
If anyone is in doubt, I suggest you read: American Academy of Pediatrics, Volume 130, Number 6, December 2012 or Cancer Journal for Clinicians 2013 American Cancer Society or UC Davis Autism/Pesticides Study 2013
All we are asking for is basic disclosure, modest buffer zones and a health study. It shouldn’t be so hard.
Gary Hooser
Kauai County Council
