Letters to the editor can serve a variety of functions in a newspaper, making readers aware of issues that haven’t hit the news pages, scolding office holders for a job not well done, or maybe thanking a stranger for a helping hand in a time of need.
Sometimes, letters can bring clarity to an issue of controversy, providing a common-sense, grassroots perspective that eludes those of us in the news business who pride ourselves on having an ear to the ground on community matters.
Such was the case this past Thursday when Bloomington resident Ellen Barnard wrote about the dustup over the helicopter landing pad at Potomac Valley Hospital.
A group of Pin Oak Lane residents who live near the hospital have protested the facility’s helipad, saying it’s too close to nearby homes, businesses and hospital facilities. They’ve taken their concerns to the FAA and the Mineral County Commissioners.
A few miles west as the ‘copter flies, Barnard has a different perspective. She wrote about how Bloomington School has been used as an emergency landing site for med-evac helicopters, even though it lacks the concrete pad, wind socks, navigational beacons and other features at PVH. When someone is gravely injured and air transport deemed necessary, the community rallies to the school yard to prepare the impromptu landing zone.
Yes, the helicopter is loud. Coming and going, it kicks up leaves and dust at the school and nearby homes. Traffic is tied up in the community. The helicopter fights are indeed inconvenient, Barnard notes, but welcomed because, as disruptive as it is, that helicopter might just save a life. “Instead of grumbling,” she wrote, “we say a prayer for all involved as we clean up the little inconveniences that saving lives can cause.”
Certainly, the helipad at PVH would be used more often than the Bloomington school yard, but just as certainly it would not be used that frequently. Cumberland Memorial is the regional trauma center and home to the Trooper Five med-evac, and one would expect PVH to be used only rarely.
In those cases, though, that helipad might just mean the difference between life and death. The life saved could be anyone’s, including a resident of Pin Oak Lane.
Yes, the helicopter would be noisy and disruptive. But as Ms. Barnard notes, some inconveniences are worth every bit of trouble when a life is on the line.
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Letters to the editor can serve a variety of functions in a newspaper, making readers aware of issues that haven’t hit the news pages, scolding office holders for a job not well done, or maybe thanking a stranger for a helping hand in a time of need.
Sometimes, letters can bring clarity to an issue of controversy, providing a common-sense, grassroots perspective that eludes those of us in the news business who pride ourselves on having an ear to the ground on community matters.
Such was the case this past Thursday when Bloomington resident Ellen Barnard wrote about the dustup over the helicopter landing pad at Potomac Valley Hospital.
A group of Pin Oak Lane residents who live near the hospital have protested the facility’s helipad, saying it’s too close to nearby homes, businesses and hospital facilities. They’ve taken their concerns to the FAA and the Mineral County Commissioners.
A few miles west as the ‘copter flies, Barnard has a different perspective. She wrote about how Bloomington School has been used as an emergency landing site for med-evac helicopters, even though it lacks the concrete pad, wind socks, navigational beacons and other features at PVH. When someone is gravely injured and air transport deemed necessary, the community rallies to the school yard to prepare the impromptu landing zone.
Yes, the helicopter is loud. Coming and going, it kicks up leaves and dust at the school and nearby homes. Traffic is tied up in the community. The helicopter fights are indeed inconvenient, Barnard notes, but welcomed because, as disruptive as it is, that helicopter might just save a life. “Instead of grumbling,” she wrote, “we say a prayer for all involved as we clean up the little inconveniences that saving lives can cause.”
Certainly, the helipad at PVH would be used more often than the Bloomington school yard, but just as certainly it would not be used that frequently. Cumberland Memorial is the regional trauma center and home to the Trooper Five med-evac, and one would expect PVH to be used only rarely.
In those cases, though, that helipad might just mean the difference between life and death. The life saved could be anyone’s, including a resident of Pin Oak Lane.
Yes, the helicopter would be noisy and disruptive. But as Ms. Barnard notes, some inconveniences are worth every bit of trouble when a life is on the line.
