Clinic was great success
Dear editor:
I want to thank all the people who helped make the Appalachian Regional Integrative Healthcare Clinic in Bakersville Oct. 27 a great success. In collaboration with Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine in Boone and Global Alternative Healthcare Project, or GAHP, an international organization that promotes free integrative medicine clinics based mainly in Traditional Asian Medicine, we were able to offer a valuable healthcare event to our community.
The clinical portion of the weekend-long training took place at the Bakersville Community Health Center (many thanks for donating their space). We had 15 practitioners, including local volunteers such as myself, Tara Lee L.Ac., Claudia Green LMT, John Janeski LMT/herbalist and Jennifer Rambo, Certified Holistic Nutritionist. We had a wonderful group of local folks lined up at the door when we opened, and they experienced this innovative approach to integrative medicine: First, triage by an experienced practitioner to determine what treatments would be most beneficial; then they received one or all of the following: acupuncture, tuina (Chinese osteopathic massage) or Swedish massage, therapeutic exercise, and discussion of healthy lifestyle practices if needed. We were busy the whole three-and-a-half hours we ran the clinic, and I’m sure many other folks could have benefited if they’d been able to come.
This was a free clinic, and we hope to host more of these clinics in the future. We also hope to apply this innovative approach and offer more frequent, donation-based clinics in the future. If you would like to learn more or would like to help support future events like this, please let me know.
Jade Pierce
Burnsville
A contract is a contract
Dear editor:
I want to address the article the Wednesday, Oct. 30, edition of the Mitchell News-Journal concerning the Mitchell County Board of Commissioners having a hard time deciding if the county’s DSS director gets to keep her $12,000 moving allowance. I don’t see the problem; it was a moving allowance, she didn’t move, so she doesn’t get to keep the money. This is not rocket science.
The contract said the DSS director must live within 30 miles of Bakersville, and she failed to honor the terms of that contract. Was afterschool childcare not an issue when she signed the contract? Did she not have a dog that needed 30 acres to run on before she signed the contract? It appears she never had any intention of moving to Mitchell County.
For three years, I worked 30 minutes away from my home, where I had a terminally ill husband. When his caregiver would call me, and I had to go home to take care of his personal needs, it took me at least two to two-and-a-half hours to get back to work. If there is an emergency, our DSS director can’t get here any faster than an hour-and-a-half. I think our at-risk children in Mitchell County deserve better.
I do not think our DSS director has a heart for this area. When Commissioner Matthew “Vern” Grindstaff ask her how she felt about Mitchell County, her answer didn’t even make sense. The $12,000 moving allowance was taxpayers’ money. One thing this fiasco has opened my eyes to is the fact that even in small-town government, politicians do not care what they do with taxpayers’ money.
If the Commissioners have an extra $12,000 they don’t care about, find 120 older adults in Mitchell County who live on $12,000 or less a year and give each one of them a $100 gift card from Ingles so they can have Christmas dinner.
I wouldn’t move from Mitchell County to Hendersonville, but I didn’t take a job in Hendersonville. It’s not about who the DSS director is, it’s about a contract being a contract.
What it all boils down to is the Commissioners have been had.
Shirley McKinney
Spruce Pine
Help make Christmas magical
Dear editor:
It’s that time of the year again that we prepare for the annual “Shop with a Cop,” and we need you to help donate your time or money to provide needs and a few wants for children in our community. “Shop with a Cop” is led by local law enforcement and provides a way for children to receive gifts for Christmas they would not receive otherwise.
My challenge is getting more donations than we have in the past. This is not about recognition for law enforcement; this is about helping children in our community. Help us take care of our children and be a part of one of the more significant programs in Mitchell County. All proceeds go straight to the children, so please consider donating any amount. All donations are much appreciated.
To make a financial contribution, make checks payable to the Spruce Pine Police Department or Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office by Friday, Dec. 13, and put “Shop with a Cop” on the memo line. Mail checks to either the Spruce Pine Town Hall at P.O. Box 189, Spruce Pine, NC 28777 or the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office, 65 Crimson Laurel Way No. 8, Bakersville, NC 28705.
If a monetary donation is not possible, we are always in need of volunteers. If you would like to donate your time, contact me, Spruce Pine Police Chief Billy Summerlin or Mitchell County Sheriff Donald Street. We need your help and ask that you help us make a child’s Christmas magical this year.
Det. Kasey Cook
Spruce Pine Police