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Show hP community "nh'W comments... We would like to join other Southeastern Utahns In congratulating congrat-ulating Highway Patrol Trooper Phil Barney on his recent honor at being named the Most Outstanding Public Employee In this 4-county district. Through our years of association with Trooper Barney we have found him to be polite, understanding and fair In both his personal and public dealings with people. The ability to do the excellent work In law enforcement that he has exhibited, combined with his admirable personal virtues, are, we are sure, why Phil Barney was chosen for this particular honor. We are proud of him, as we are proud of all the troopers In this district. . It hasn't been an easy year for the Utah Highway Patrol. The scandal which broke out In the northern part of the state, which finally resulted in the dismissal of the commanding officer of the Patrol, led to a certain amount of public derision cast on all its members. This unfortunate episode could, among a group of lesser men, have resulted in swift and obvious demoralization. However, the sense of responsibility to duty and excellent spirit evidenced among members of the Utah Highway Patrol, especially the men in the field and particularly those in District L, prevailed through those difficult months. Law enforcement in Southeastern Utah would be severely handicapped without the presence of our local well-trained, professional, and dedicated members of the Dtah Highway Patrol. They are all to be congratulated. -s)t- We are pleased to see the instigation of a fine new program In Moab, which can lead to inestimable benefits for any number of local children. We are referring, of course, to the pre-school eye examinations being sponsored by the Moab Lions Club. The Lions, who sponsored the collection of old eye glasses for recycling recently, have apparently chosen the saving of eyesight as a particular service emphasis, and we don't know what better project they could have taken on. Information tells us that the most crucial years for detecting eyesight problems are those years before a child is in school, while his sharp central vision Is still developing. This testing program will link Moab with much of the rest of the nation, giving local parents a chance to detect and get help for vision defects in their children when that help can be most effective. We urge all parents of pre-school children to take advantage of the testing, which will be held March 16 between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. More Information can be obtained from County Nurse Hannah Pittman. sit-- Word that a new bid for malpractice insurance at the local hospital had been receivedTn the amount of $15,000 rather than the previous low of $25,000 sounded good on the surface but doesn't, in the long run, appear to offer much to alleviate the situation. Certainly that figure is $10,000 under the other offer, however it is still about $14,000 more than the hospital paid for the same amount of coverage last year. Whether to take the coverage, at such ridiculously high rates, especially for an institution that has never had a malpractice suit, or to go without coverage and take the chance of personal suit against county commissioners, hospital board members and other associated with the hospital, has go to be a very difficult decision, and one we don't envy the board and commission having to make. And speaking of difficult decisions, they appear to be coming in bunches at our local hospital. That facility, along with most other small hospitals in the state, from what we read, is facing some pretty tough financial decisions, resulting from fewer people needing hospitalization, rising costs for help and materials, increased governmental regulations, etc., etc. A few years ago we viewed the local rate of $45 per day as a pretty hefty hospital room rate. The rates are now $65 per day, and the hospital board has been told by its auditor that the rate will have to go to at least $80 per day to meet costs. Especially in a public institution, nobody likes to raise rates. But in this case, we don't see any alternative. The county has always provided some monies for hospital losses, however the county's financial resources are not limitless. Then there's the problem of what to do with extended care patients when the current federal program expires the end of this month. Certainly we agree that those who need to have supervision and care must remain in the hospital. The problem is, who is going to pay their bills. We don't see easy answers to any of these problems. But we think they're serious enough and we think the maintenance of the local hospital is an important enough issue, that local citizens should be aware of the current problems. |