Archive - Nov 11, 2009

By DEB WUETHRICH

Congressman Mark Schauer shared his view of being a member of the U.S. House of Representatives just after voting to pass sweeping health insurance reform legislation this past weekend.

“Today, I was proud to cast a vote in favor of the Affordable Health Care for America Act because it will offer every single American access to quality, affordable health insurance, strengthen Medicare for seniors by closing the prescription drug donut hole, and lower health care costs for Michigan businesses to help them compete,” Schauer said just after the vote. “Additionally, this legislation and accompanying measures will reduce the federal deficit by $109 billion over the next ten years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.”

Rep. Schauer visited the Tecumseh Herald on Monday afternoon, after taking part in activities in the Detroit area where Vice President Joe Biden was a featured guest, to further discuss the bill and what it contains. He said that he would soon be holding a Town Hall meeting in the area to talk further with constituents. Rep. Schauer spoke of a Forum he’d held in Tecumseh at the Glass Room in July to gather background, information and input prior to the vote he knew he would be making at some point.
“We talked at the forum about how our health care system is broken, and we talked about people and businesses who are no longer able to afford coverage, and people who can’t get coverage because they have illnesses or have been sick in the past,” Rep. Schauer said. “So I listened very carefully here in July, and I’ve been credited by some of my colleagues for really getting some important things into this bill, such as things that would help protect seniors, and help provide grants for employers who want to start wellness programs.”

By DEB WUETHRICH

Tecumseh Public Schools received an “unqualified (clean) opinion” from the Rehmann Group who audited the district’s finances this year. The rating is the highest rating given by auditing firms to public entities. All district funds ended the 2008-2009 fiscal year with positive balances. The general fund balance increased by $202,811 to $2,015,987, or 8.3 percent of expenditures. The Tecumseh School Board accepted the audit on Monday night.

Bill Wright, TPS Chief Financial Officer, also reviewed the district’s financial situation with mid-year state aid cuts of $292 per student and another potential cut anticipated with the January Revenue Estimating Conference. Wright said that first revision information is currently being prepared for the fiscal year 2010 budget. Some mid-year budget cuts are being proposed to include Early Learning Assistants, privatization of eligible staff with a retire/re-hire program, and reducing instructional assistants to the essential levels of mandates.

“I hate to give bad news, but looking ahead to 2011, we anticipate a further loss of students and we’re hearing that we could face a decline in the foundation allowance from $300-$900 per student,” Wright said. He said the district lost almost $2.6 million in the last four years in school foundation allowance monies. “I think it’s going to be a challenge and we have a tremendous amount of work to do.” He said the district would like to begin next year’s budget development process earlier than in the past and include some public meetings.

To the Editor,

Hooray for the local guys.

Last week my neighbor needed the big cable company to repair the connection to her house.  Three days after she called, they arrived in an unmarked truck with two guys in jeans and sweatshirts with no company logo.  As they were digging a trench on my property for her new line, they hit my fiber optic cable from D&P Cable.  I lost my phone, Internet and cable with one cut.  I went outside to tell them what had happened, and they said it wasn’t their fault because the cable wasn’t marked.  When I asked if they had called Miss Dig, they admitted they had not.

I called D&P Cable and two men in a company truck arrived within 20 minutes.  By then, the big cable company guys had left, in somewhat of a hurry.  The D&P men assessed the damage and said they needed to return to their office on Maumee Street to get more cable to fix the fiber optic connection.  In another 20 minutes, they were back and my connection was restored.

If you want good service from a company who wants your business, make the switch to D&P Cable.  They are friendly, dependable and professional.  Since I made the switch in June, I am paying less for my phone, Internet, and cable, and when I have a problem, I can make a local call and get results.

Ronda Cheever
Tecumseh

To The Editor,

 To start with, I don’t even know Doug Myers, but I do agree with a lot of his letters.  He seems to do his research and knows what he’s talking about.  One reader last week called him Rush Limberger (?) and “a Republican as you make your politics extremely clear.”  Now, if I agree with Mr. Myers, does that mean I’m a Republican too?  I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat, and if I had my way, there would be NO parties!  Possibly then some people wouldn’t just vote “the party” without caring if Jack the Ripper is running for office, as long as he belongs to “their” party.  I vote for the person I think can and will do the best job.  I don’t care what party they are.  Perhaps if everyone voted that way these politicians would actually have to do their jobs because they wouldn’t know that they had a certain number of party votes.

 Further more, I do NOT want a government health card. I don’t even want the Medicare card they made me take because I turned 65!  The advantage of my Medicare card?  I don’t have to pay a $10 co-pay.  Here’s a couple of disadvantages.  One doctor I go to every six weeks  is now stretched out to 65 days because Medicare won’t let you go any more often than 65 days.  

Another one: I can’t get an H1N1 flu shot because they say that if you are 65 and over you’ve lived so long that you’re immune to it.  How stupid!  Someone should tell our government that this is a new strain of flu, so even though I have health problems, I’m not allowed to have this shot.  Is this the beginning of Obama’s “kill grandma” portion of his Health Care?  

To the Editor,

As we approach the beginning of winter sports seasons, namely basketball, I wanted to take a moment to thank the people of Tecumseh for the honor/ privilege of coaching the JV boys basketball team last year.  This year I will be taking on a new challenge as the Manchester boys varsity coach.

I am proud of the boys and their efforts.  While we didn’t necessarily see the wins/losses gains we’d like, the foundation is there!  I can attest that the current coaching staff (Brandon, Scott, Nick) is working tirelessly to develop a great program.  I will be keenly watching to see the progress.  I know that the people of Tecumseh will be proud.
I am grateful and thankful for the opportunity to serve the Tecumseh community.

Brad Gerbe
Tecumseh

To the Editor,

This past week was very exciting for the Tecumseh Parks and Recreation Department.  On Thursday evening our 3rd & 4th grade flag football league wrapped up their season with final games played at the new Tecumseh High School Athletic Complex.  Our athletes were out on the field under the glow of the lights, showing their peers, family, and friends just what they could do.  All three games were extremely close, with the winner pulling ahead in the final minutes of play.

The entire Tecumseh Parks and Recreation department would like to thank Griff Mills and Tim Tilton for making these final games possible.  The players truly enjoyed being a part of the Big Show.  Hearing their names called on the loud speaker, playing under the lights, and running on a beautiful new field was sincerely the highlight of the season.  Thank you, thank you!