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Letters to the Editor

Health care needs a patient-first approach

To: Editor Alpena News My Name is William Dale Blank AKA Bill Blank. I was an LPN from 2001 until April of 2021. My experience includes med surge, ICU, OB, ER, home health, private duty, and long-term care. May I start by saying insurance providers remain a major problem with medical services. More often you are seen by an NP under the license of a doctor or psychiatrist. To add to the disconnect, you will see a different practitioner in a facility than you will see on the outside. Instead of practitioners working together, they appear to me, to be competitors. The lack of ...

GOP members of Congress should speak out

Vladimir Putin is clearly delighted by Trump’s election. The self-proclaimed “best negotiator in the world” has basically conceded that Russia will achieve everything it wanted to achieve when it invaded Ukraine. Trump, along with Secretary of Defense Hegseth and Secretary of State Rubio, have clearly stated, or at least implied, that they will seek to “normalize relations” with a country and leader who are guilty of war crimes, deny NATO membership and not allow Ukraine to reclaim territory illegally seized by Russia, hint that there are “economic opportunities” between ...

Rain garden an investment in Alpena’s future

The Alpena Public School board is considering a rain garden project at the high school — an initiative that would provide lasting benefits for students, the environment, and the community. While some may have concerns about maintenance, rain gardens are a proven, low-cost way to manage stormwater, reduce erosion, and create a valuable educational space. With a well-structured plan, this project could be a model of sustainability and hands-on learning. Rain gardens absorb runoff from rainstorms, filtering pollutants and reducing flooding risks. They require some initial care — ...

Real-life starting to mirror fiction too much

I so enjoy a good book, or movie for that matter. Most are mirrors of real everyday life. Some of my favorite genres are ‘Who Done its’ when the detective uses intuition and experience deducing human atrocities; but mostly the intricate use of local, or countrywide/worldwide facilities such as the Center for Disease Control, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Crime Information Center, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Central Intelligence Agency, or Secret Intelligence Service (James Bond) to “catch the villain!” All of these agencies are utilized and highly important ...

Some Trump voters being played for fools

Dear Editor, I recently read a letter from a Trump supporter who had a few things confused. Firstly, she said Americans had been “playing the fool” by the Associated Press. She was confused about the meaning of the idiom she used. “Playing the fool” is not something that is done to a person, it is an act that one person puts on for another. Secondly, she was confused about who had been played for fools (which is what I think she may have thought the idiom meant). Those who voted for Donald Trump because of his promise to reduce inflation were totally played for fools. But, as ...

Kiwanis thanks community for book sale success

Dear Editor, On behalf of the Kiwanis Club of Alpena, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Alpena community for their incredible generosity and support of our recent used book sale. Thanks to the overwhelming number of book donations from local residents and the enthusiastic turnout at the event itself, we are proud to say that thousands of books found new homes. The generosity of our community has made this event a resounding success, and we are thrilled to report that all proceeds will go directly to support children in the Alpena area. We also want to offer a ...