Category Archives: Opinions
Medicare adds new tool to compare hospice agencies
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services already has tools to help seniors make informed decisions about health care: Physician Compare, 
Hospital Compare, Home Health Compare and Nursing Home Compare. Now it’s taken the next step with Hospice Compare.
The website www.medicare.gov/hospicecompare just recently launched online. Right from the front page it’s helpful: You can search for a hospice agency
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Laughing at our demons: VetTV streaming along
A year ago, the Veteran Television Network was a Kickstarter project hoping to bring veteran-related television to life. The creators were looking for $250,000 to produce four months of weekly shows, with their target 
audience being post-9/11 veterans. At this writing, 3,609 backers have pledged $296,331, and VetTV is streaming along.
Have you seen it yet? Take a look. The content is made by us, veterans, who’ve been there, done that. Look
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Sometimes we need to let things go
What should we do with our eclipse glasses now? As it’s highly unlikely we’ll be alive for the next eclipse, it may be alright to throw them away.
Now, at our house, throwing away things is traumatic. And our closets and storage building reflect this problem.
Because, as anyone knows who had either grandparents or parents who lived through the Great Depression, you never
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Letters to the Editor
On county’s housing shortage
Dear Editor,
I support those speaking out publicly against the 250-home Glassy Mountain subdivision and applaud the recent letters to the editor in opposition. The subdivision will overwhelm the area, the infrastructure systems (roadways, water, sewer), and the long-time residents who live
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On the road again
“Road trip!” — to some of us those words bring back lots of memories. To others, going on a road trip is still on the to-do list. If the idea is appealing, here are some thoughts to get you dreaming.
The first consideration is your vehicle. You can rent a comfy SUV with luxury seats and stereo, and then spend nights in motels. You won’t be putting the mileage on your own vehicle, and if the SUV breaks down, a replacement is only a phone call away. A rental also gives you the option of a one-way trip: You can leave the vehicle
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Complaint hotline to be staffed by vets
As promised, we have a new complaint hotline — the White House VA Hotline. Best of all, it’s staffed by veterans.
The hotline started up in June with an estimated full 24/7 availability in August, but now the full-time schedule has been pushed back until Oct. 15. Until then, the hotline hours are from 8 a.m to 5 p.m. EDT. (Remember that this is not a crisis line. If you have a crisis, call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1.)
Veterans are being hired and trained, and that’s a good thing. No longer will
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Let’s walk in the light
I don’t want to write about North Korea or Afghanistan, the unraveling of a presidency, the 24-hour coverage, the gathering of Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, the removal of statues, the Russia investigation, money laundering, global warming, the rise of the oceans, the rise of China, immigration, the wall, protests, health care, terrorism, health care premiums, the earthquake fault in Lake Jocassee, the defunding of the National Endowment for the Arts, our failing roads and bridges or the drug crisis in America.
Did I leave anything out?
Not that I think we should all bury our heads in the sand and pretend
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Amazing transformation, amazing future for SDPC
Another school year has begun, and it’s going to be a great one. While students spent the summer at grandma’s, Bible school, and beach and lake 
trips, teachers spent hundreds of hours in class learning new skills. They took time out of their summer to study new technology, along with issues facing our schools, such as confidentiality of student data, child abuse recognition, bullying and student safety procedures for emergencies, including ALICE training — it’s been a summer of learning for teachers.
While our students relaxed, our teachers and administrators worked
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Culture change needed to fight opioid crisis
The opportunity to serve the Anderson community as an independent neighborhood pharmacist humbles me daily. Our access to a wide variety of medicines is the envy of most of the world, and it helps us lead happy and productive lives.
But some of our loved ones succumb to a disease triggered by the very 
medicines that should help them. The disease is opioid addiction.
Opioid addiction usually results from pain management efforts following an injury or surgery, because health care providers often automatically resort to high-potency drugs that promise immediate relief. Those drugs frequently cause addiction.
The default to opioid prescription stems from, according to many physicians, the priority of “patient satisfaction.” Medicare, in particular, uses “patient satisfaction” in its calculus for reimbursement. One doctor put it this way: pain equals dissatisfaction, and dissatisfaction equals lower
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Letters to the Editor
Where would you be without the workers?
Dear Editor,
Of all structures, bridges, towers, buildings, no matter how small or great, there is one part that’s seldom seen or even gets mentioned. Still, it is the most important part of the structure, no matter its size.
I’m talking about the foundation.
If the foundation is strong, so is the structure. However, if it is weak, so is the structure.
We will be celebrating Labor Day soon, where laborers are given a day showing they are appreciated. When it comes to companies, the workers are the foundation that makes or breaks a business. It is they who have given their time and effort. Their blood, sweat and tears are one of the things that have paved the way for our nation to be made a better world for all. Don’t forget where your wealth came from. If not for the workers, where would you be? Happy Labor Day to all.
Eddie Boggs
Westminster
Findley family member stands against Glassy development
Dear Editor,
My name is William E. Findley Jr., and I am writing with respect to the proposed Summit at Glassy Mountain development.
At the request of several of my friends in Pickens County, I have been asked if I am a partner or participant in this project to destroy Glassy Mountain as
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