Letters to the editor

SAAA ‘crisis’  fits a pattern

Representatives of the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging are asking the public for donations to help it out of debt. Unfortunately, the current financial crisis is not an isolated incident but a pattern over many years.

SAAA has a history of executive mismanagement and inadequate oversight by the board of directors. The crisis of 2012 is one of several that have occurred since the agency’s establishment in the mid-1970s.

Even though executive staff and board members have changed over the years, management problems resurface, and the board is caught blindsided. The cycle repeats itself: There’s a discovery of misappropriated funds followed by substantial sums being spent on lawsuits, audits, and countersuits. Now the board wants to hire professional fundraisers to solicit public donations to deal with its excessive debt.

I do not recall over the years any other local public or private nonprofit agency with this kind of repeat history of mismanagement. One can only wonder what it is about the SAAA’s organizational structure that allows this to happen over and over.

These are facts worth considering before writing a check to bail out a system that doesn’t work. Restoring faith in the ability of this agency to use its funds to deliver services to those in need is a higher priority than diverting funds to lawsuits, auditors, and debt service as a result of mismanagement.

Paulette Jennis

Winchester

Why she’s happy

Yes, George Bedway (Your Views, Dec. 8), I and a lot of other people are happy that this country has a fair election system unlike a lot of other countries.

Yes, I’m happy that you don’t have to be rich to become president of the United States, and lots of talent would go to waste because someone is not wealthy.

Yes, I’m happy that Americans can think for themselves and don’t buy into all the lies they hear on TV and other social media.

I’m happy that Americans don’t allow themselves to be intimidated by your type of name-calling and that they want to move past the pre-Civil War and pre-civil rights eras.

They make me proud to be an American.

Marilyn Henning

Winchester

Charleston, S.C. is  a long way away

I was quite surprised to learn from a friend of mine that Dr. Charles A. Roberts had left Winchester Medical Center. I thought that he might have left on his own volition, but later learned that his situation with the hospital made it too difficult to stay.

I want to say, as a patient of Dr. Roberts, having had heart bypass surgery in 2007, that he is an excellent surgeon and very caring person. I had no problems after my surgery.

I thank Dr. Roberts for adding extra years to my life. I am 82 years old and doing quite well.

If I would need surgery in the future, it’s a long way to Charleston, S.C.

Jean E. Kief

Martinsburg, W.Va.

Pursuing God’s  word — now

The letter from Janie Williams Spacek (“Biblical treasure,” Nov. 23) was spot-on. With each passing day, the Bible seems to have more relevance to what is going on in the world — or maybe it’s the other way around.

But how, as Mrs. Spacek suggests, does the Bible help the victims of natural disasters as these events keep taking place with steadily increasing frequency?

These people have a lot on their minds at the moment and, to many of them, the Bible is mysterious, intimidating, and confusing. To receive the true comfort from the Bible, we must take the time to study diligently and understand why the Bible is necessary in the first place and where this is all leading and why.

Of course, “better late than never” might apply here. However, we can benefit greatly by developing an accurate understanding of God’s word now. Our faith and understanding will then already be in place when disaster, either worldwide or on a personal scale, inevitably strikes.

Theodore Day

Capon Bridge, W.Va.

Found a cane?  Leave it for owner

Merry Christmas to the person who may have found a green metal cane at the Subway on U.S. 522 North.

The name of the owner is on the cane. It was accidentally left there on Dec. 6 between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.

If you need it more than I do, so be it. The nice thing to do was turn it in to the desk. It is not too late! They have my name and phone number.

Wishing you a happy New Year.

N.A. Crim

Frederick County