We welcome letters to the Editor, a chance for members of the community to comment on issues of concern to them. All letters must be original, not duplications of letters addressed to public officials or written by others. The views and opinions expressed are those of the letter writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication, its publishers, Editor, or staff.
To the Editor:
This letter responds to the two letters to the editor, concerning Pine Crest, in last week’s Foto News. The first letter claims that nursing home administrators with a nursing background are the most qualified. I agree and would add that our current Pine Crest Administrator is an RN. Contrary to the author’s claims that Pine Crest is in the “red,” its operations are generating a small surplus due to the recently increased Medicaid reimbursement rate.
The second letter addresses the Pine Crest Community Survey. This survey was published in both local newspapers and all Lincoln County residents were invited to participate. 782 people responded to the survey and of those 85.3% said that Pine Crest should remain County owned.
The letter writer complains about the sample size. The minimum sample size necessary to obtain a useful result from an opinion survey is 100 participants. The community survey’s sample size is more than adequate to provide a good indication of public opinion.
The question is whether we as a community should continue to care for the elderly among us. Those who support County ownership of Pine Crest believe we should. We appear to be in the majority.
– Ruthann Dunphy
Merrill, Wis.
Letters To The Editor Policy:
*Letters must be 250 words or less. (There will be no exceptions to this. Any letter longer than 250 words will not be printed.)
*The writer must include their full name, complete address, and a phone number where he/she can be easily reached for verification. Phone numbers and street addresses will not be published, but will be used for verification purposes, if necessary. Letters must be signed and the name, city, and state will be printed.
*Letters may be edited for style, grammar, and length. Form letters or those we determine to be libelous or slanderous will not be accepted. Any letter deemed derogatory, inflammatory, or involving vulgar language will not be published. We reserve all rights to reject material submitted to this publication.
*Letters will be published on a “first come, first served” basis. Any letters which we are unable to publish in the printed newspaper may be run online at www.merrillfotonews.com and/or may be printed in the paper at a later date.
*In fairness to all, and due to space constraints, there is a limit of two letters per year from an individual writer. Additional letters may be submitted to our Paid Letters to the Editor column and will require payment in full prior to publication at the same rate as Political Letters to the Editor (see policy below).
Political Letters To The Editor Policy:
All letters submitted as an endorsement for a political candidate, referendum, or political agenda will carry the same guidelines as above; however, they will be charged $40.00 per letter of up to 250 words in length. Longer political letters will be accepted but will be charged $10.00 per additional 100 words. All political letters must be prepaid prior to printing. Letters to the Editor will not be accepted from candidates running for election or representatives of an organization endorsing their own referendum, as these are clearly advertisements and not opinion letters; those submissions will be referred to our Advertising Department to be run as paid ads.