The low road

To the Editor:

For anyone who is confused by my position on town provided health care or why I voted against the highway contract, I’ll try and explain.

In a country dedicated to the proposition that all of us come into this life as equals, it is not such a stretch to think that one should be treated as an equal as regards to the health care of the life in question. That does not mean, to me anyway, that we are entitled to health care, but rather fair and equal access to it when offered.

Collective bargaining is fine for pay, uniforms, vacation time, and things particular to the given job, but human frailty is not something one can bargain one’s self out of … it is our common trait. And bargaining away only the next generation’s benefits, excluding your own, is taking the low road to new levels.

The right thing to do is to make it town policy that all employees and elected officials to whom health care is offered, be offered it on an equal basis.  Instead it is offered at several different levels of contribution, all by new hires only, and the amount inversely correlated to the strength of their respective unions, if they have one.

An obvious solution is a voluntary move by the unions to accept an across-the-board 10-percent contribution to health care cost, along with the adoption of an official policy that assures all employees and elected officials to whom health care is now offered that it will continue to be offered to them all as long as it is offered to any, and at a common rate of contribution. A base pay bump initially would soften the blow. Retirees on Social Security would be left as they are.

This would apply to current as well as future employees, and accomplishes a couple of things: it saves the taxpayer more money, sooner than the current policy, while at the same time declaring acceptance of the principle that we are, all of us, taxpayers, elected officials and employees alike, in this thing together.

The long way is much tougher, requiring enabling legislation by the state to allow us to pull health care off the bargaining table and standardize the way it is offered by law. It has been done elsewhere. I would much prefer it came voluntarily, as I believe it would not only say so much more about who we are but who we are willing to be.

PAUL SHEPHERD, Councilman. Shelter Island

Sylvester Manor

To the Editor:

The future of Sylvester Manor has been much in the news of late. Like all worthwhile and lasting ventures, efforts to preserve and explore its history, and to re-establish agriculture as a sustainable Island enterprise, will take time. With the support of the Town of Shelter Island and Suffolk County, and a little patience, we will succeed in conserving over 80 acres, land that will not sit idle but will be committed to a new era of environmentally sound agriculture.

While we look forward to commemorating the sale of our development rights, we are celebrating our good fortune now. In 2011, we asked the Shelter Island community to help us launch this new non-profit effort and meet manor owner Eben Fiske Ostby’s $250,000 matching donation. I am pleased to announce that our friends and neighbors more than met the match. All of us at Sylvester Manor Educational Farm are grateful for this generous support and proud to be a part of this extraordinary community.

Much work lies ahead in realizing the full potential of Sylvester Manor and all that it can represent to Shelter Island. We greatly need and truly appreciate the continued support of this community and look forward to serving more Islanders than ever in 2012.

Cara Loriz, Executive Director, Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, Inc., Shelter Island

Men: be vigilant, too

To the Editor:

There have been many articles and letters in this newspaper about the importance of early breast cancer detection. They have raised our collective awareness and consciousness about combating this disease and finding a cure. As a husband, I have always thought that my role was simply to be supportive. To go with my wife to the doctor when she had her annual breast exam; to remind her about doing her self-examinations and ask her how she is doing.

This letter is for all the husbands, significant others, partners, lovers and BFFs. We need to take a more “hands on” approach. No joke. While doing a self-exam, your woman might miss a very small lump or mistake it for an insect bite. A small mark or bruise on the skin might be an abrasion from a new bra, or it might be the initial stages of a cancer. She might err on the side of not wanting to panic or upset others. Or she might think that it is most likely nothing. And then there are doctors who would rather be optimistic and not order an “unnecessary” test. All of what I term as “optimistic denial”.

We need to be a “second opinion.” If two heads are better than one, then another pair of hands properly inspecting her breast can’t hurt. Play “doctor.” Learn how and how often to examine her. Do it while you are doing a tick check. Have fun or be absolutely serious about it. If you find anything suspicious, run, don’t walk, to a specialist. No democracy here. Make a pact that if either one of you suspects something, it will be checked out.

Too many brave women here have been the victims of breast cancer. Is it caused by the MBTE in our water or the constant “controlled” radioactive discharges from nearby nuclear power plants? Is it the chemicals in our food or the air pollution that we breathe? Is it stress or is it genetic? They are all suspect. There are continuing advances in medicine to battle this insidious disease. The “magic bullet” may happen in the near future. But until then, we do know that early detection is the best hope. The earlier the better and your involvement is an additional step towards that goal.

So to all of those husbands, significant others, partners, lovers and BFFs, I suggest that you join her in a breast examination as an extra Valentine’s Day gift this year. It won’t cost you anything but she will value it as priceless, for sure. (Hopefully you also gave her a card and flowers or something too.) The life that you might help save may very well be the love of your life.

Vinnie Novak, Shelter Island