Letters to the editor 7.23.20

Published 12:15 am Thursday, July 23, 2020

: Letters to the Editor

In the July 17 East Texas Mailbox, two readers castigated Sheriff Smith for his no-mask, no-fine stance to the governor’s “mask mandate.” I am hopeful that they will draw some comfort from the following facts regarding masks and COVID-19.

FACT #1. Even the best mask — N95 — has a pore size of 0.3 microns (a micron is one millionth of a meter). A virus fragment is only 0.12 microns in size. The sad reality is that no mask can keep out a virus.

FACT #2. In a May 21, 2020, article in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Michael Klompas reported: “We know that wearing a mask outside healthcare facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection . . . the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.”

Fact #3.Christine Francis, consultant for Infection Protection and Control for WHO said: “If you have cough, fever and difficulty breathing, you should wear a mask and seek medical care. If you do not have these symptoms, you do not have to wear masks because there is no evidence they protect people who are not sick.”

Fact #4. Masks available to the general public include a warning on the box: “This product is intended for general purpose infection control but does not eliminate the risk of contracting any disease or infection.”

DPS: Tyler man among five who died in I-20 crash; suspect charged with manslaughter, aggravated assault

Longtime Green Acres pastor David Dykes has died

Officials: Lance Phillips’ bond revoked after online attack on judge, prosecutors

I am thankful for a sheriff who has learned the facts and has the courage to stand up against the purveyors of fear.

Tim Kane, Tyler

PROPOSED NAMES

I believe the new names of the two Tyler high schools should be Tyler West and Tyler East. Each school lies either east or west of the commonly held community dividing line which is Broadway.

Furthermore changes need to be made to both mascots, drill teams, bands and other sports teams or clubs which carry an offensive moniker. Now is the time to wipe the slate clean, the Tyler taxpayers should not be burdened with the cost of renaming things again in a few years when other groups become offended. I would refer the school board to any elementary library for a reference on my last point, “If You Give a Moose a Muffin.”

Sylvia Wilkinson, Tyler

BE COUNTED

If I announced I was giving away $1,000 to each person who showed up at City Hall on Tuesday morning, I bet there would be tons of people on Monday night getting in line. Well, what if that were true, only different?

Every 10 years the federal government counts people to determine who is living in the U.S. and where they’re living. It’s a census. They’ve been doing it since 1790. They divide up our tax dollars based on who shows up — not in a line at City Hall — but with a census.

It’s as if each person that is counted gets money — only indirectly. It means more money deposited into the “bank account of our city,” and it’s returned to us in the form of new roads, expanded highways, new schools, needed health clinics, new parks and new programs.

We need a count of where people live, and how many people need to be served. It’s the only fair way to divide our federal tax dollars. If you’re not counted, you don’t count. And that means missing money that could be used by you and your family right where you live.

The U.S. Census Bureau is bound by law to protect your answers and keep them strictly confidential. They cannot release any identifiable information about you, your home or your business, not even to law enforcement agencies. It’s protected under Title 13 of the U.S. Code.

This is your money and your census. You can respond online at 2020census.gov, by phone or mail while practicing social distancing in the safety of your home. Or text 2020census to 313131. Let’s count, East Texas, because East Texas counts.

The deadline for the 2020 Census is Oct. 31, 2020.

Derrith Bondurant, Tyler