Letters to the editor

Bring back K-9 police

to Fairfield

Like so many things, a 5-cent stamp, mom and pop stores, stores closed on Sundays -- gone, just memories of our past -- so is the K-9 officer.

Years ago you saw police with their K-9 partners in the back seat. It was a beautiful partnership to see because you knew the dog was trained to protect and aid the officer.

To see the dog also brought intimidation to the criminal and respect to the police department. Somehow you felt safer seeing the K-9.

Everyday I walk my son's dog in downtown Bridgeport. I see K-9 patrol always and I stop and watch; it brings back nostalgic memories of Fairfield.

At one point we did have K-9. The dog would go to schools and educate the children about police work; the dogs would also be beneficial to the officers for pursuit, searches, crowd control and all out positive morale to the officers. Somehow you felt safer with the presence of K-9 officers.

There are so many dog rescue and adoption sites today for dogs. I'm sure the availability of dogs would not be a problem. Many times during the week when Fairfield needs K-9, they have to go to other towns to use their K-9. Why not have our own?

Most people love dogs and many people I talk to would love to see K-9 back with the officers. Please, police chief, bring back K-9 officers.

Karen Buturla

Fairfield

Obama's Wal-Mart

Wal-mart recently announced they were adding 500,000 jobs. They never said how many jobs were lost because of Wal-mart.

For every gain, there is a loss. For every plus there is a minus. When Wal-mart moves into an area, they destroy the small businessperson making a fair income, replacing them with a minimum wage earner.

Small business made this country; they were the entrepreneurs who used their minds and physical abilities to make this country great. Now Wal-Mart is in accord with Obama to destroy the middle class and replace them with human robots that are told what, when, and how to do it. Wal-Mart and Obama are right on track to destroy the entrepreneurial persons, and with that destruction, comes Nationalized Socialism.

Wal-Mart is a cancer in our economy; they put the high wage earner out of small business, they sell mostly foreign made products, primarily made in China, putting millions of Americans out of work. Wal-Mart is an Un-American Company. Wal-Mart is like a Chinese nation in our country. When China starts to call in their loans, whom do you think will profit by it, yes the satellite nation of China, Wal-Mart?

My next-door neighbor made a comment, stating that the small business in this area is doing well, I asked him, is there a Wal-Mart nearby. He thought and said the nearest one was ten miles away. A perfect example when there is a Wal-Mart in the area, the small businesses disappear.

Obama cannot control millions of small businesses; however, he can control one, the largest retailer, Wal-Mart.

This information is out there but no media wants to expose it for fear of the repercussions from Wal-Mart.

Richard Hunsicker

Fairfield

Malloy and Wyman:

proven accomplishments

If you are a registered Democrat, please mark your calendar to vote in a primary on Aug. 10. The polls will be opened from

6 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can vote at your local polling place. If you are not sure, please contact the registrars of voters office at your town hall.

The last time someone used the campaign phrase "nobody's man but yours" was in 1988. That was the year that we were all surprised by a man from Greenwich. Then we ended up with a state income tax, shame on us. How ironic, that we have another candidate from Greenwich using the very same political line as his adviser and friend, Lowell Weicker did. Lamont's ideas seem like a professor guiding a class.

Did the business he ran employ people or actually down-size and cause the numbers of unemployed in our state to rise ?

The problems facing our state will not be solved by a cowboy mentality. Someone who has dealt with the problems of managing a large city, dealing with the municipal unions, and maintaining a commitment to early childhood education and working with the state and federal government has been a hallmark of the Dan Malloy administration. Malloy is a fiscal pragmatist where his leadership garnered a AAA bond rating for 14 years.

The state of Connecticut needs a leader who has actually dealt with municipal budgets and managed to focus for 14 years on a city. Stamford is a model city in our state, thanks to the leadership of Malloy. He has used his skills to focus on education and public safety. Malloy is a leader that we can count on to deal with the issues facing our next governor. The team of Malloy and Nancy Wyman offer us those who have the hardest work ethic.

So I hope you will join me in supporting and voting for Malloy and Wyman. Now more than ever we need to put our state on a fiscal road to recovery. On the first day, the team of Malloy and Wyman will be ready for the job of governor and lieutenant governor.

There are many other candidates, but no team has the proven record of accomplishments as Malloy and Wyman.

Susan P. Barrett,

Retired educator, former legislator, State Central Committee Woman,

Fairfield

Take Connecticut Challenge

to beat cancer

The other day it really hit home to me how many people are still suffering here in Fairfield and across the country. I was visiting a local business that has been supporting the Connecticut Challenge for four years and asked how he was doing. He explained that business was way down, he had to let go five of his previous 12 employees and that he is personally making up the difference working seven days per week just to stay in business. We see and hear stories like these every day and sadly it is often even worse.

As a co-founder of the Connecticut Challenge, an organization that helps the 120,000 plus cancer survivors across Connecticut, I hear stories related to personal health, family, work and life that are even more heart wrenching. Most people don't realize that after a person is diagnosed with cancer and undergoes the radical treatments of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation that they are forever changed. Even if they make it through, which happily more than 67 percent do, their bodies are different. They feel different and in most cases their lives are different. Imagine that in these poor economic times you have to suffer through not only the physical and emotional strains of life after cancer, but layer a hefty dose of stress related to work and family on this fragile person -- the outcome is not pleasant. On top of this, we hear many cases where cancer survivors lose their jobs and also their insurance benefits. These are all things most of us take for granted when we see a friend or family member who has battled this insidious disease.

The Connecticut Challenge helps cancer survivors deal with much of the fallout related to cancer. Our first goal is to get them healthy again by steering them toward lifestyle interventions like nutrition and exercise. We do this so they can feel good about themselves and reduce the risk of cancer recurrence. We also support programs that provide psychotherapy to help survivors cope better with the rest of what life brings. These are all important components of rehabilitating a survivor that our medical current system does not address.

From the funds generated by our inaugural bike event in 2005, we created the first cancer survivor clinic at Yale Cancer Center in 2006 and have grown ever since. After five years and over $3 million raised, we have a network of hospitals across the state where we support the creation and maintenance of cancer survivor programs. Pretty soon we are going to be opening our own local centers so all cancer survivors will have access to rehabilitation resources they need to get their lives back.

The Connecticut Challenge has a mission to give all cancer survivors a path back to a normal life. To do this, we need to grow and make programs available locally in places where they can be conveniently accessed. Today, the only way this happens is by our small group working tirelessly to raise funds through our signature bike event, personal donations, grants, planned giving and local events such as next Thursday July 15th at Westport's Second Time Around where a percent of all sales go to the Connecticut Challenge. The state and federal agencies are doing very little of anything to support the cancer survivors we know, so it's up to us to make these resources available.

The Connecticut Challenge is a Connecticut based organization that efficiently deploys the funds we raise back into Connecticut based programs. All of the money we raise stays in Connecticut.

Please join us and help support the cancer survivors you know by participating in our event on July 24. It's a great event for families and even if you don't ride a bike you can help out as a volunteer or make a contribution. For more information visit our website at www.ctchallenge.org.

John Ragland Jr.,

Co-Founder and Director, Connecticut Challenge,

Westport