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FRIDAY December 5, 2003 - Subscribe - Contact Us Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels November 17, 2003 National health care key to drug gouging problem In your Opinion piece, you say the "Canada Drug Service has become popular among seniors and other Portland-area residents needing low-cost prescription drugs." What about those other residents? Who are they? How many of them are there? And if they don't qualify for Medicare as seniors, how will they benefit from any changes made to Medicare? And if the pharmaceutical companies in this country carry through with their threats - and they've made them in writing to Canadian suppliers - to cut off adequate supplies as a way to crack down on American purchases, where does that leave them? Without qualifying for Medicare benefits and without access to Canada, how do they get pharmaceuticals at these grossly inflated prices? I appreciate your support of Canadian purchases for Americans as one way to access affordable drugs. The process fills prescriptions by American physicians, for Americans who have chronic drug needs, and makes the purchases affordable, with timely, convenient mail delivery. Why isn't the profit margin on drugs sold to Canada enough to satisfy our drug companies? It's greed, folks, plain and simple. And until we get some form of national health coverage which includes a reasonable prescription drug benefit, Americans will continue to be robbed. So until that happens, we'd better rally behind our right to make our pharmaceutical purchases where we can afford them. And if this doesn't affect you directly, it just may be a life-threatening issue to one of your neighbors. Judith Stevens Medford Suggested ski boycott aims at wrong people On November 3 the Ashland Daily Tidings published a letter from Eric Navickas and Tracy Bungay of the Ashland Watershed Watchdogs Association calling for an economic boycott of Mount Ashland. They suggested that funds not spent on skiing could be given to the Ashland Schools Foundation. The Ashland Schools Foundation (ASF) Board of Directors and staff would like to clarify that our organization is in no way associated with the Ashland Watershed Watchdogs Association. While we appreciate the charitable suggestion shown by this group, the Ashland Schools Foundation has no official position on the complicated issues surrounding the expansion of Mt. Ashland, nor indeed on any other non-schools related community issues. The Ashland Schools Foundation's soul purpose is to support the Ashland public schools so our students can receive the best possible education. We are politically active only with issues that are school-related. We appreciate the incredible support this community has given the schools through our foundation and are proud to report that in 2003 nearly $250,000 has been raised through the ASF for use in our schools in this school year! If you are interested in learning more about the Ashland Schools Foundation, please view our website at: www.ashlandschoolsfoundation.org, or call us directly at 482-8197. Susan Bacon Executive Director Steve Armitage Board Chair Ashland Schools Foundation Tidings' new look misses chances to improve content Feedback on the new Tidings: Why would anyone with access to a TV and the New York Times want to buy the Tidings? To find out what's going on in Ashland, especially what to see and do. Your small "Get Out" section, which shows events for the next two days, is a great start; so is the "Happenings" page in the much-improved Revels. "Backpage" is also excellent, but why not add small maps to trailheads? Why not scrap national/international news, which no one reads anyway, and greatly expand coverage of people and events in town? It would be more costly than canned AP stories but it would double your circulation. Criticism: The small print and faint typeface is tough on old eyes, and there are a lot of old eyes in Ashland. Also, the masthead description of our paper as "An edition of the Mail Tribune" is an insult. It may be true but do you have to say it out loud? Robert Staal Ashland DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Road Cams