Smoke-free decision cheered (04/03/07)

To the editor:

Hahoo! The local restaurant is going smoke-free. We all have rights. However, sometimes it is the innocent ones that suffer more than the ones practicing their rights.

I am glad to see the Pennville Restaurant going smoke-free. Even if just the front part was for the smokers, the smoke still drifts to the back and I, for one, if I just get a whiff of the smoke, I start to choke up.

There needs to be more consideration for the non-smokers, not just by the restaurants in the area, but also of the patrons.

Some perfumes also bother me. Not all of them. Ladies think they just put on a dab. However, to a person who is sensitive to certain fragrances, it can be overwhelming.

There is a restaurant in Portland (I will not mention the name) where a person has to walk through the smoking section to be seated in the non-smoking part. Makes a lot of sense, right?

One problem is that the people that are smoking or wearing fragrances are not aware of how just a small amount can bother a person.

Yes, we all have rights. Let us be more considerate of our fellow brothers and sisters. God bless each and every one.

Thank you,

Roberta R. Horn

Pennville

Observations

To the editor:

As the girlfriend of a divorced father, I have witnessed many things that in my opinion just aren't right, and need to be changed. First of all, I know of several custodial parents (divorced parents with custody of the child) who are right now sitting on welfare for no reason at all except they are: 1. Too lazy to get a job; 2. Make up excuses why they simply can't work and; 3. Government housing will raise their rent if they bring home too much in a paycheck.

When these people are given practicially free housing and money to pay utilities plus cash assistance, why would they want to get a job? It's all free money, right? Wrong!

Am I the only taxpayer that is sick of supporting (through taxes) perfectly healthy people not working and having so much given to them just because they are single parents?

And while I am on this subject, I would like to discuss Medicaid, which is a wonderful program for helping people out. I know of one case in particular where it's being completely taken advantage of. Let's just say your kid has glasses. What would happen if your child loses four or five pair of glasses within one year? I personally have heard a single parent (on Medicaid) say, "oh, it's all right. Medicaid will pay for a new pair of glasses."

Isn't that considered abusing the system? Just because it's there for your help doesn't mean you should take advantage of it like that. I understand that kids lose or break glasses, but after the first or second pair, shouldn't the parent also take responsibility - especially if the child is under the age of 10?

Here is another problem I never thought I would have to go through. What started as a simple shared parenting case turned into a nightmare. Several days after the petition for shared parenting was filed, the custodial parent filed allegations (reports to the police) against the other parent for things that never took place. In the past two years we have had to deal with false allegations several times. Each and every time, the case has been dropped because the allegations were false.

This process, we recently found out, can happen as many times as the custodial parent chooses. And if you are "lucky" enough to live in a separate state, they can file allegations in both states.

In this case the shared parenting was denied, and the custodial parent keeps full custody of the child, and the other parent had their child support increased. Also during the hearing the magistrate stated that it is perfectly O.K. for the custodial parent not to have a job and to live off welfare.

Is that a good impression to give a young child? Work ethic and motivation are taught to children at a very young age. Shouldn't we lead by example? Shouldn't we show our kids that you need to work for the things in life, that you just don't have the world handed to you while you sit at home doing nothing?

I am not trying to insult the people that have reason for assistance. There are many people out there with real needs, and welfare is there for them. I totally support that. I am against the people out there who play the system, have several kids, and use them for a meal ticket.

Katie Gilliland

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