Letters, 8/5: Nebraska has it all

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Leave it to some lame brain from La-La Land to write a column putting down Nebraska and Nebraskans (LJS, Aug. 1).

What does he know about the melodic song of the meadowlark, the twilight serenade of the cicadas and the nighttime lullaby of the crickets? (Do they even have cicadas and/or crickets in L.A.?)

Has he seen our big, very old cottonwood trees, with hundreds of leaves dancing in the breeze; our beautiful and unique architectural star, our state Capitol Building; plenty of colorful history (Buffalo Bill, the Pony Express, Gen. John J. Pershing, ruts from the old wagon trains, Arbor Lodge, the bluffs along the “wide Missouri,” Nebraska City, Bellevue, Brownville)?

Wonderful art galleries, good professional theater and musical productions. Prairie flora and fauna, good parks, marvelous sunsets, dramatic thunderstorms, fresh air, and a plenitude of Midwestern friendliness. Rush-hour traffic that still gets you all the way across town (Lincoln) in 20 minutes without anyone shooting at you. We have changing seasons, bright autumn foliage and scenes of winter wonderlands.

We have Runzas, Tastees, Starbucks and myriad coffee houses. We have some of the freshest, best-tasting corn-on-the-cob in the country, possibly. (What’s a Slurpee? What am I missing?)

Born and raised in Nebraska, I since have lived all over the country: in Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon, Georgia, Illinois and Indiana — in the biggest cities and the smallest towns — and I love the Great Plains and what’s left of the original prairie, which is very little. I am proud of being a child of the heartlands, proud that we are the breadbasket for the rest of the country, north, south, east or west.

I also love the mountains and the oceans, the Pacific Northwest; and the entire Eastern Seaboard, both because of its many scenic offerings, but, most of all, for all the history contained in that most condensed area. (I have visited in Los Angeles, and you couldn’t give it to me on a silver platter!)

Naomi Long Hopperstad, Lincoln

Aging agency worthwhile

I’m shocked by the drastic proposed city budget cuts to the Lincoln Area Agency on Aging. It is definitely a crippling blow. I understand the need for cutting the budget, but what is being proposed is excessive.

Over the years, I have seen the preventive services such as exercise, proper nutrition, health checks and emotional support that are provided by the Lifetime Health Program to be very effective and beneficial in helping seniors remain active, delaying more expensive services such as nursing homes or hospitalization.

Being affected by these proposed cuts are the same citizens who have supported Lincoln over the years by working hard and paying taxes, and who now are living on fixed incomes and often having large medical bills. Preventive services save money in the long run.

And it might be wise to remember that the “boomers” are coming in great numbers, and their first priority is how to stay healthy and active. Where will our older population go to find such valuable health service programs should these programs be discontinued?

Lily Hans, Lincoln

Don’t cut senior program

I was very disturbed to hear that Lifetime Health has been one of the programs identified to be cut from the city’s budget.

My mother is 74 years old and uses a lot of the services that Lifetime office has to offer. She is a foster grandparent at the Bryan Community School (Lincoln Public Schools). She rocks the babies every day and serves as a mentor to the young mothers in that program. The students in our schools benefit from having older people in their lives, and the foster grandparents benefit. They have so much life experience and wisdom to bestow on our youth.

The senior center is a place where my mother can go exercise and meet new friends. She has a senior companion. She is able to get health assessments.

The programs that my mother participates in keep her healthy and active. I have a family of my own, so I can’t afford to pay for day services for her. I believe there are other families just like mine who are just as grateful for the Lifetime Health Program as the elders who participate in it.

Please don’t cut this program from the budget. I believe if you do, you will end up spending a lot more money on doctors and hospitals for these individuals. In the long run, you will not have saved very much money for the city.

Lisa A. Taylor, Lincoln

Food stamps need fix

Congressman Jeff Fortenberry stood up for Nebraska’s children and families recently, and he should be commended.

Some 72,000 Nebraska families do not know where their next meal will come from. The Food Stamp Program helps these and many other Nebraska families buy the food their families need to work, learn and survive.

However, food stamp benefits have been eroding for the past 10 years because the benefits are not adjusted for inflation. As a result, each year families can afford less and less food with their food stamp benefits.

Congress is trying to address the erosion of the food stamp benefit this year as part of the reauthorization of the Food Stamp Program in the Farm Bill. One of the provisions in the new Farm Bill would tie food stamp benefits to inflation. In the course of the House Agriculture Committee’s debate on the Farm Bill, Congressman Fortenberry voted against a potentially damaging amendment which would have repealed that provision and ensured the continuation of the food stamp benefit erosion.

Food is basic to life and self-sufficiency, and the Food Stamp Program helps to strengthen those Nebraska families it serves. Congressman Fortenberry’s vote showed a true commitment to Nebraska’s children and families, and we thank him.

Rebecca Gould, executive director, Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, Lincoln

Waste is waste

I disagree with the comments made by John Rownd in his July 27 letter to the editor titled “Erring on the side of caution.”

If too many free lunches are being made available to Lincoln Public Schools students, then this practice needs to stop immediately, and the entire process needs to be reviewed.

Why should we “err on the side of caution” when these applications should be verified as accurate. Families that meet the criteria will be accepted and those that do not will not be a part of the program. There is enough waste and mismanagement with government-sponsored programs; no wonder our taxes continue to increase.

State Auditor Mike Foley should be commended for the job he is doing, not criticized. We finally have a state employee who is doing the job that he was hired to do and doing it honestly. It worries me that he is finding waste, nepotism, and financial inaccuracies in our local government.

Rownd and other Lincoln residents should be concerned with the fact that our state auditor is uncovering these “mistakes” and should be grateful for Foley’s attention to detail.

Jodi Delozier, Lincoln

Nelnet timing

When Nelnet reached a settlement in April with Jon Bruning’s office, the attorney general only noted two “minor” incidents of questionable and anticompetitive conduct.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, on the other hand, presented a pretty extensive list of allegations that included tickets to spas, sporting events and shows along with several allegations not mentioned by Bruning.

The only explanation being that Nelnet waited until after April to begin their alleged anticompetitive activities so as not to arouse the suspicions of the attorney general. The attorney general that’s raising money for a 2008 Senate campaign.

Gene Hogan, Lincoln