Did my best for Brookwood

To the Editor: I am writing in response to the recent letter from Vera Talevi.

1. I am not, and have never been, an employee of the Cook Foundation. The work I have done for Brookwood has been as either an independent contractor or a volunteer.

2. During a six-week period of July and August 2007, I occupied the house at Brookwood at the request of the board of directors, to discourage the theft and vandalism that had been occurring.

Some background: In 1990, I donated my time to build railings for both bridges on the property, using local hemlock for the rustic style, to complement this property’s landscape.

The approximate value of this donation was $1,200.

In recognition of this work, for which I was not compensated, I received the Brookwood Award in 1992. In 2003, the railings at the bridge near the house needed replacement. Cory and Michael Moffat donated the hemlock, and I donated my labor to rebuild those railings. The value of this work was approximately $600.

These same railings were damaged by a vehicle in 2007, and I was paid $600 to replace them. At the same time, I rebuilt the stone retaining walls on both sides of the bridge, and I donated my time for the stone work. Value, $400.

I believe my donated labor gives me a stake in the future of Brookwood and I will continue to oppose any attempt to divide and privatize this public treasure.

While my contributions may not represent a large amount in terms of what the property needs, it is the best I could do given my circumstances. Any implication that I did less than my best for Brookwood is not supported by the facts.

Michael Whaling

Sharon Springs

Locked and loaded

We were more than a bit surprised to read in the Cooperstown Crier that the Village of Cooperstown is cutting back on its police force by reducing the number of shifts worked. Meaning, that at times there will be no police on duty in the Village. We were really surprised that this cut was made over the lack of $38,000 in the budget. Without getting into how this might impact crime stats - or the hourly patterns of crime - you can be sure that there will be some surprised 911 callers once this goes into effect.

This reminds me of a sign in a roadhouse down in Texas. Above a photo of a Colt revolver it says: ``We don’t call 911.’’

If a village resident calls in the wee hours of the morning to report an incident — when no police are on duty — the 911 operator will have to inform the caller that they might as well get out their shotgun and wait for an officer to arrive some time the next day - when police coverage resumes!

That will be a call worth recording. It will sound like a scheduling call to the phone company: ``We will have someone there on Tuesday. Will you be home between 9 and 5?’’

We note that Lynne Jackson Mebust and Jeff Katz pushed for adequate coverage. And that Chief Nicols spoke out for it. So don’t bother to call them when your house or store is being broken into. Just rack back the slide on your semiautomatic and chamber a round.

Fully loaded on River Street, Chip Northrup Cooperstown Healthcare thoughts As the Healthcare debate continues, I wish to share with the community at large some rational and well-organized principles which can be used to measure success or failure for the American people. This comes to me from the Sisters of Charity of New York, some of whose members sit on the board of the Catholic Health Association.

The Sisters of Charity is a religious order of women founded 200 tears ago by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Since its inception, the order has devoted its mission to education and healthcare along with other social justice issues.

The Catholic Health Association is joined by Network, Faithful Reform in Healthcare and the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, who support the following principles as the contribute to the common good:

1. Universal Access/ Availability: A. Reduce barriers to care; B. Subsidize premiums for insurance for low income families; C. Cap out pocket expenses; D.

Eliminate preexisting condition clauses; E. Reduce disparities in care — paying special attention to the poor and vulnerable; F.

Mandate coverage.

2. Reduce the cost of care: A. Broaden the insurance base — including the uninsured will reduce the per capita insurance cost; B. Allocate resources for cost-effective care and administration of care; C. Encourage the involvement of the private and public sectors; D. Introduce a public health plan option to keep insurance rates more competitive.

3. Improve quality of care. A. Implement Electronic Medical Record (EMR); it reduces duplication of services; B. Change the reimbursement incentives to favor quality, not quantity of care; C. Develop panels of experts to oversee effectiveness of care and the use of Medicare and Medicaid dollars; D. Respect values and ethics of faith-based healthcare.

4. Holistic care: A. Introduce health and prevention oriented services; B. Develop provider and patient incentives that offer rewards for healthy lifestyles; C. Improve health literacy and education.

Connie Kraham Velez

Associate, Sisters of Charity of New York Middlefield