Over the
Counter Availability of Controversial Drug
Under Fire
U.S. Judge Edward R. Korman has
issued the federal ruling requiring the
access of the 'morning-after-pill' to
17-year-olds without a prescription or
parental consent.
'KIDS for CASH' SCANDAL
in Pennsylvania reaches around the world: Why
weren't corrupt judges stopped?
Disbarred Luzerne County President Judge Mark
Ciavarella
Also caught up in the scandal was former Judge
Michael Conahanm who also pleaded guilty to the
same charges.
Teens
want tainted convictions tossed
When Gregory Jacobs was injured skiboarding, his
parents were told his situation was hopeless and
he would not recover. Hospital staff encouraged
the donation of his organs to assist others, for
whom -- they said -- there was hope.
But after Gregory passed, his family learned
that he wasn't declared brain dead until 29
minutes into the procedure in which his organs
were being removed for transplant.
Why was Gregory alive as his organs were being
removed? Surprisingly, this encounter -- which
is happening daily throughout the United States
-- is not at all an isolated incident.
Current rules and regulations allow virtually
all powers of determining prognosis for patients
such as Gregory Jacobs be handed to the very
physicians treating them, virtually without
oversight.
Many families have discovered, too late, that
the likelihood that their family member was
essentially killed during the organ harvesting
session and not, as they were told, sure to die
of 'natural causes following significant injury,
or as the direct result of their injuries.'
In Gregory's case, his parents obtained
documentation following a coroner's questioning
of the timeframe's involved. The coroner
contacted and the hospital staff quickly
'adjusted' the time of death to correspond to
the legal requirements. However, it is typically
not questioned that death actually occurs on the
operating room table as the 'victim' is being
relieved of his organs.
A website known as
LIFEGUARDIANFOUNDATION.ORG has been
addressing this issue for some time, charging
that if people understood what is happening,
they would never be taken in by unethical people
in hospitals, feigning concern while
encouraging organ donation.
In interviews with the organizers of The
Life Guardian Foundation, which has many
documented cases on their website and
offers concise pdfs outlining the issue, there
is little doubt of the accuracy of their claims,
and the
Catholic church has also established an
adverse position in the matter citing evidence
that the very process of obtaining of organs is
fraught with legal inconsistencies and
assessments for which there can be no physical
proof.
It is little help, however, for those for whom
the question is only raised following the tragic
injury of a loved one. These decisions are often
pressed upon a person who is faced with trying
to comprehend what s happening while still in
the throes of shock.
Many victims' families have indicated they were
separated from each other once hospital
officials determined the likeliest candidate to
sign the required documents. One mother
described a grueling incident in which she was
separated from her husband who ultimately gave
permission for the harvesting of organs from
their son, the victim of a small handgun
shooting that happened in their home. The boy
was conscious and able to talk in the ambulance
as he left their home.
Once in the care of physicians, however, the
family was told his case, too, was essentially
hopeless. Only later did the his parents recognize their
son's injuries should not have resulted in
death.
How much is a human life worth in the world of
transplants? Remember, most patients are used
to acquire at least three of these types of
donations:
Please note that these figures do not include
the requirements for securing the organs, nor do
they include the cost of helicopter transport,
the common means of transportation for organs
intended for donation.
JULY 2008 --
New Mayor
Steve Bennett won the last election by
a wide margin as a write-in candidate for Mayor - the first
successful write-in candidacy in Quartzsite.
Also sworn in during the ceremony as councilmen were
incumbent Carolyn Guthrie and newly elected William
Moore.
Following Bennett's resignation August 27, 2008,
Charles [Chuck] Busby assumed the position of
'Interim Mayor' until his death 4 November 2008.
Now, the position filled by acting Mayor Walter Akin, the Citizen's Coalition is
pressing for an election -- to elect a new Mayor.
While the council has been less than receptive to
this idea, Coalition organizers still
indicate they have enough signatures to press --
effectively -- for an election.
Hal Davidson, acting Vice Mayor, has indicated a
formal election will cost the town in excess of $
10,000.00, while former Town Attorney Glen Gimbut --
now Town Attorney for San Luis -- has cited $
4,000.00 as a 'more realistic' figure.
The discrepancy -- and the question as to
whether or not the Town Council will agree to allow
their constituents to hold a formal election has yet
to be addressed as Town Manager/ Town Attorney
Daniel G. Field has been unavailable for comment, as
has acting Mayor Walter Akin since Wednesday's
meeting.
Although Field has openly stated he
believes there should be an election, the questions
he has raised indicate there could be obstacles to
allowing the election process to proceed. As yet,
these 'obstacles' have yet to be clearly defined by
any Town official, including Field.
The latest position of both Field and Akin is that
no election will take place until March of 2010.
"We don't want to wait," stated Dean Taylor,
Citizen's Coalition Chairman. "We need to get people
into office that will be concerned with Quartzsite -
with the welfare of Quartzsite's citizens. We have
to go forward with our demands for an election now."
Former Mayor C. Richard Oldham spoke to the Council
at a meeting in November, stating that during his
tenure in office, it was specifically stated that
there would be elections for the position of Mayor.
Oldham suggested that an election be held and
indicated the council is using an appointment clause
intended to be used with vacant council seats.
"It's supposed to a directly elected Mayor by the
people of Quartzsite.
The lack of availability of the town's officials is
-- according to Citizen's Coalition representatives
-- commonplace.
"We are virtually unrepresented," stated Dean
Taylor, Coalition chairman. "We cannot get these
people on the phone, they won't answer in public. We
bring concerns to them and they shut us down three
minutes into our presentations without a response.
Then we can't address them again until the next
meeting, when we approach them publicly only to be
treated the same way again."
Other Coalition members reiterated Taylor's concern
about the handling of issues of concern to
Quartzsite's citizenry.
"We need a competent Mayor," stated one businessman,
who asked not to be identified. "We have all heard
they plan not to allow an election until 2010, and
we all feel -- in the wake of the current economic
issues throughout the country -- that we just can't
afford to wait until 2010 to get competent
leadership into Quartzsite.
Coalition members cited concern for the lack of
growth happening in Quartzsite and the 'forcing out'
of business throughout the community.
"Everywhere you look businesses are coming up for
sale here," the businessman continued. "Look at how
many have come and made deals, only to suddenly
decide on a location elsewhere, citing concerns that
they will encounter trouble with the 'elected
officials' in Quartzsite. It's as though we're held
hostage by the unbelievable level of incompetence
that is ruining our ability to do business. We need
to replace the existing council."
In years past, the Town of Quartzsite's by-laws had
stipulated that the position of Mayor would be
elected by the townspeople.
This by-law cannot be changed by the sitting
council. Only a referendum -- voted on by the people
-- could alter the existing by-law. Any attempt to
do otherwise is blatantly illegal.
Interestingly, the topic foremost among those
critical of the Town government currently governing
Quartzsite is the charge that the council is
unreceptive to the concerns [and the accusations] of
the people, avoiding questions and consistently
failing to return calls and inquiries pertinent to
matters concerning Quartzsite's citizens.
Further, the council has re-implemented a
'stopwatch' approach to open meetings by effectively
preventing citizens from speaking openly by using a
stopwatch and gavel to interrupt after allowing the
person to speak for the maximum period of three
minutes.
When Bennett took office, he promptly discontinued
the practice, noting that the citizenry of the town
had a right to voice their opinions at open meetings
of the council.
At the Wednesday evening meeting, Citizen's
Coalition representative Doug Guilford questioned
the town's handling of zoning issues following an
incident in which he, a Century 21 real estate
agent, had had a problem with zoning after
purchasing a property in Quartzsite he intended for
food vending.
Guilford charged that the town arbitrarily defined
zoning without proper research, causing issues that
took weeks to resolve.
"I did my due diligence," Guilford stated. "This
property was zoned C2. However, after purchasing the
property, I was informed by the zoning official that
it was not properly zoned for my project."
Guilford addressed the council with a
prepared statement and asked the council to
consider reviewing the town's zoning procedures to
provide a fair and unbiased basis on which to base
zoning. In the midst of his statement, he was told
to stop speaking. Another Coalition member finished
his statement for him.
Dean Taylor, the Coalition's chairman, was also
interrupted by the three-minute limit, also
requiring a second person, Gerald Wilcox, to finish
a
written statement he'd begun reading, which
cited problems with communications -- specifically
following the death of acting Mayor Charles [Chuck]
Busby November 4, 2008.
The Citizen's Coalition statement cited several
instances of poor or nonexistent communications with
the town including the mishandling of the death of
acting Mayor Busby.
Questions concerning Busby's death went unanswered,
some were openly antagonistic. One press
representative reported she had been told by a town
official, "We have nothing to say: Nothing. Nothing.
Nothing."
The Coalition statement was requesting the
appointment of an official 'Information Officer' to
be properly trained so that future incidents might
be treated in a more timely and professional way.
Charles [Chuck] Busby did not take steps to
re-implement the three minute time limit during the
time he was in office. It is unclear under what
circumstances this oft-challenged practice was
re-enacted by the town council -- but the open
discussions concerning the ramifications of these
and other council actions have been cited as the
reasoning behind the formation of a Citizen's
Coalition to represent the concerns, ideas and
opinions of a public body that openly claims they
are not being properly represented by the officials
currently holding office in the town.
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