Topic: Health

Health impacts the passages of life

By Rev. Charles Moreland | July 20, 2008 |

“A model’s life is over at 21.” This television commercial is a commentary on the brevity of life and on how fleeting are the passages of life. Our young adult passage went by rapidly even though we have fond memories and a storage room of precious memories. At a glance back at that time, there was first the benefit of leaving home tp go to college, seminary and later, to volunteer for the Army. There was my courtship and marriage to Marilyn Page.

The benefits of life are to some degree within our control. Through a dedicated regimen of preventive and proactive care, we can very likely prolong our health and our lives. Through diligent attention, no matter the years, we increase our opportunities for a full life. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Spirituality | No Comments

Kick crime to the curb

By Christine Anne Piesyk | June 27, 2008 |

I’ve been looking over the two years’ worth of notes I’ve kept for story ideas, all rooted in what I have observed within the Montgomery County boundaries. From a distance, a temporary vantage point in the northeast, and the rest of the time from the porch of my home in Clarksville, I’ve followed the shootings and killings and robberies in Clarksville, the ones that happen in the dead of night, the ones that happen in broad daylight in a Wal-Mart parking lot, and a string of crimes in between. Crimes of inebriation or addiction, crimes of passion or hate, crimes of despair, crimes of rage, crimes rooted in poverty and need, crimes anchored in greed Am I the only one not surprised?

I feel the strongest sympathy and sadness for the families, the residents involved, the innocent bystanders with lives sometimes forever shattered. But I do believe this escalation in violent crime is a tragedy waiting to happen, one that will repeat itself many more times if the city, the schools, the police and all of us — everyday citizens — don’t become involved in our community, if we fail to stand behind a call to get tough and enforce the laws already on the books, and toughen up the sentencing and cut off the “deals” that spew offenders back onto the streets with minimal sentences and penalties too easily shrugged off. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Education, Issues, Opinion, Politics | No Comments

‘Abstinence Only’ is government censorship

By Chris Lugo | June 20, 2008 |

Chris Lugo, author of this position statement, is the Green party Candidate for the Tennessee State Senate.

According to a recent report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at least one in four teenage girls nationwide have a sexually transmitted disease. Clearly abstinence only school programs do not deter young people from sexual activity, but in fact this direction actually deters young adults from access to information that they need to make responsible and safe choices. We must act immediately to withdraw funding for this program and allow teachers to present sensible sexual education curriculum.

As a candidate for federal office I believe that young people must be presented with all the facts available to them. Instead of relying on religious rhetoric and the value system of a fundamentalist minority, I believe that we must look clearly at human behavior as biological fact. The school system is not an avenue for proselytizing about various belief systems. Sexual activity is a fact of life, much like any other human activity and young people need to know the facts before it is too late. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Education, Issues, Opinion | 2 Comments

Meditation is achievement

By Rev. Charles Moreland | June 8, 2008 |

In an  issue of Newsweek arrives on Tuesday or Wednesday, I peruse the contents and give priority to articles and stories that appeal to me at the moment. After that, I read it from cover to cover, starting at page 1. Recently the story No Buddha Required captured my attention and lead the competition as to what i would read first.

Rembrandt’s “Philosopher in Meditation”

No Buddha Required is by no means a critical, derogatory or fault-finding expose of Buddhism. Being the international city Clarksville is, there are believers in this world religion among us. I know several practicing Buddhists, productive citizens who have a depth of compassion. Their teachings are respectful of all God’s creatures. «Read the rest of this article»

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Gateway Medical Center transfers patients to new Dunlop Lane facility

June 6, 2008 |

On Saturday, June 7, Gateway Medical Center patients will be transferred from the old hospital on Madison Street to the new facility at 651 Dunlop Lane on Saturday, June 7.

Gateway’s new “waiting room”

To provide for a safe and efficient transfer of patients, incoming traffic to the new facility will be kept to a minimum in order to make the patient-move process as smooth as possible. Patient family members will be instructed on how to enter the new hospital property.

Other important changes:

The Emergency Department at the Madison Street location will permanently close at 6 a.m. on June 7.

The new Emergency Department at 651 Dunlop Lane will open at 6 a.m. on June 7. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Business, News | No Comments

‘Pedal power’ ignored in city development

By Christine Anne Piesyk | June 4, 2008 |

Walking through the downtown area Saturday, on my way to the Roxy Theater to review Tuesdays with Morrie, I took a first hand view of Legion Street in progress, its roads and sidewalk tumbled bits of dirt and broken asphalt. Such things always look worse before they look better.

I couldn’t help trying to imagine a refurbished Legion Street, with a fountain, perhaps some trees and shrubs, a cascade of flowers somewhere. Not bad. Then I wondered, who’s going to use it? Festivals a few times a year?

A block away, Franklin Street holds some if the most interesting shops and building facades in Clarksville. Their back doors and loading zones open to Legion Street. Somehow, it is hard to picture a Budweiser truck unloading beer or a panel truck dropping of carton of clothes or a load of antiques on a street ahead of its time, though I hope its time will come — soon.

I think a lot about downtowns. And downtown development. And community development as a whole. Studied it. Lobbied for user-friendly communities. Found user-friendly communities all over the country, communities that mixed heritage with progress to the benefit of its citizenry. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, Opinion | No Comments

Our children need us

By Rev. Charles Moreland | June 3, 2008 |

Reading the daily papers, including USA Today, is one of my daily rituals. The locals inform me of currents events and abbreviated versions of national and international news. My goal of perusing these papers prepares me to intelligently join in discussions among retirees while exercising at the Athletic Club.

I was recently shocked by a headline that read Federal Funding Changes Hit DCS. As I read each paragraph of this story, I got more and upset that our needy children will be tortured emotionally by budget cuts that precipitate the loss of 160 employees of the Department of Children and Youth Services. A budget cut by the federal government, namely the Bush administration, of $73 million dollars in unconscionable.

Governor Bredesen described this financial tragedy as “visible and painful kinds of cuts” and said budget cuts will have to be made in other areas “to keep the case management system intact.”

Our values are distorted: the pressing needs of our children must be given priority. «Read the rest of this article»

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H.O.P.E. Scholarship expanded as State Senate closes 2nd session

By Tennessee Democrats | May 22, 2008 |

• H.O.P.E. eligibility drops to 2.75
• Helping Heroes Act helps Tennessee vets return to school
• Longterm Care Act helps elderly stay at home

NASHVILLE – Citing expansion of lottery scholarship programs and passage of sweeping reforms of Tennessee’s long-term health care system, among other accomplishments, Democratic Leader Senator Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, and Democratic Caucus Chairman Sen. Joe Haynes, D-Goodlettsville, today said the Senate Democratic Caucus had successfully weathered difficult times during the second session of the 105th General Assembly and had “continued to stand up for Tennessee families.”

“The national economic downturn had a major impact on the state’s finances, but Senate Democrats did what Tennesseans elected us to do, we balanced the budget without new taxes,” Kyle said. “We handled the budget in a business-like fashion, and we did this while addressing our priorities. We pressed on to expanded opportunity for college students, and we prevailed.”

«Read the rest of this article»

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