Letters to the Editor…03/25/2020

To the Editor:

In my very, very distant life I acquired my nursing license. Nursing 101 taught us all to wash our hands before seeing a patient, and after visiting that patient. We also constantly washed after handling charts, machines, and stethoscope and sphygmomanometer were cleaned even without touching patients. We were also instructed and learned to wash our medical/pharmacy keys after each visit with soap and hot water.

HIV presented itself the second year of my nursing career. I volunteered to work that unit. We did not know at that time how it was spread, or who was or wasn’t a carrier, or how fatal it was. Many of those infected (blood test verification) demonstrated very little signs or symptoms. It was later tagged a “gay” disease, but that soon changed with blood transfusion cases. There really wasn’t much we could do then but make patients comfortable. Some people were concerned, and some weren’t. When children began getting HIV, mostly from transfusion or birth, people started to get “panicky, ” I see similar societal characteristics with the current coronavirus.

I urge everyone, particularly the young, to take this seriously. And I do urge people to follow hygiene guidelines, and don’t forget to add your keys to the wash list. As a nurse, keys were washed at the same time as our hands. I haven’t heard any medical person on the news telling people to wash their keys, but I would recommend it.

You can wash house and work keys with soap and water. Sanitize the bob with a Clorox wipe. I do this at least once a day. I think people would be surprised the amount of dirt that comes off those keys.

Stay healthy!

Bill Anttila

To the Editor:

I was at Bi-Mart and had just run in to grab a couple of boxes of trash compactor bags. Trying to balance them with my back brace on was a challenge.

The next thing I know a lady said let me get you a cart. She then noticed I had cut my knuckles on the shelf and managed to wipe blood on both of my hands. Rather than pull away, she proceeded to hand me a tissue. In this day of virus consciousness, I was shocked at her unbridled kindness.

We both discovered we have the same terrific back surgeon in Bend. I headed off to get the sanitary hand wipes at the front of the store and failed to get her name.

There are angels here in Sisters and I believe I just met one of them. Thank you for your exceptional kindness.

Debra Frigulti

To the Editor:

I am back as I have some questions. How can it be that the Sisters Planning Commission by a vote of 5-0 can arbitrarily make the decision to approve the 5,911 acre Master Planned Development for the Three Wind project? There was one public meeting on this project. I wonder how many people were in attendance. How many were unable to attend this one meeting to voice their concerns and opinions? I imagine there were many, myself included. With a project of this magnitude, I think there should be more public hearings.

After this one hearing the Planning Commission felt compelled to go ahead and approve the project. That is, only five members made the decision that so adversely affects the entire community of Sisters. That is not right. I have spoken to many people who agree with me.

I feel that the citizens of Sisters should have the right to vote on this enormous project instead of it being forced on us by so few. That is how a democracy works. We are losing our rights.

People have come here for years to view the majesty of all the mountains and to enjoy the charm, quaintness, peacefulness and serenity of our unique town. They come here to shop.

Please do not destroy what we have left by allowing the multi-family project to go forward. Consider the increased amount of traffic that will occur in that already congested area.

Instead of more housing, what we need is another grocery store located away from the core of the city.

Donna Holland

To the Editor,

Today we are in a seriously dangerous time, but we are fortunate to live in a community like Sisters where we care for each other. There has been much discussion about what to do and what not to do during this pandemic. I’d like to add one other suggestion along those lines: be sure you are getting accurate information and don’t share that information unless you are certain it is from a reliable news, government or medical source.

I personally witnessed how important that is over the past week. First, I had a phone conversation with a friend who asked how we were doing. I said we were working from home and practicing social distancing.

“You’re overreacting,” he said. “I’m going to send you a link to an article written by someone who had coronavirus and says it was no worse than the flu.”

I told my friend I had read that same article and felt it should never have been printed and that he should not be passing it along, because it was written by someone in their 30s. I had just read about a study of people who died from coronavirus which revealed that of 117 deaths, 116 were elderly and one person was in their 30s. My friend and I are both in our 70s. The article my friend wanted me to read was creating a false sense of relative safety about the disease.

Then yesterday we got a phone call from our son in California who was extremely agitated and angry. He said that a friend of a friend worked for FEMA and that this person — who is highly reliable, my son asserted — said the president is going to enact something called the Stafford Act and bring out the National Guard to take away our freedom.

For the second time I had to correct misinformation. This isn’t something secret that only “a friend of a friend” knows about, I told him. If you watch reliable news reports, you would know that the president already used the Stafford Act to declare a national emergency. This act allows FEMA to send funds to cities and states in a time of crisis. And if the National Guard is called up, I said, it will be to quickly set up tent hospitals in soccer stadiums and Safeway parking lots, not to take away your freedom.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt told the nation on the brink of The Great Depression that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He was half right. We also have to fear misinformation. My fellow citizens, please follow the news closely, it is important. But be sure of your source. You can generally trust The Nugget, Bend Bulletin, CNN, ABC, NBC and CBS. Be cautious about texts, tweets, emails and Fox News. Stay safe, my friends.

David Purviance

To the Editor:

Five days: 500 masks. The Center for Disease Control has issued guidance for health care providers facing the possible exhaustion of all supplies of approved face masks. As a last resort, the CDC is pointing health care providers to homemade masks.

Sisters Country can help providers be ready. Let us challenge ourselves to make 500 masks in the next five days.

I am assembling kits from which even a novice could complete five masks in less than three hours. I invite your help. Here’s what you can do:

1. Highest priority: Donate used or new 100 percent cotton T-shirts. I’ve placed a curbside collection box outside my home. We need approximately 63 shirts. 100 percent cotton only, please.

2. Sign up with me by email if you are willing to help assemble kits (some sewing/cutting skills required), [email protected]

3. Sign up with me by email if you are willing to pick up a kit on Wednesday. Each kit will make five masks. You’d need to return to me all five completed masks the next day (Thursday). A sewing machine and minimal sewing skills are all that would be required. Printed and online video instruction will be provided.

All contacts will be completed with the appropriate social distancing. Thank you for considering this request.

Pete Shepherd