Saving lives should drive trauma center issue

The May 25 letter to the editor by Leain Vashon provides an interesting viewpoint on local access to trauma care. While he acknowledges our state’s failing grades in terms of providing access to quality emergency care, he fails to mention that independent trauma experts have determined that our state can do more.

Moreover, he also fails to mention his political interest as a leader in the Culinary union. Earlier this year, that very same union protested two of the three hospitals that submitted applications to be designated Level 3 trauma centers.

I agree with Mr. Vashon on one thing: The experts should decide how to expand trauma centers in the Las Vegas Valley. Access to high-quality trauma care should not be subject to the whims and recklessness of politics or union agendas.

It is my hope that our elected officials who constitute the Southern Nevada Health District’s Board of Health will take into account community need and put patients before profits or union agendas.

I would hope even Mr. Vashon and his Culinary colleagues would agree that saving lives is paramount when any of us or our loved ones suffer from a traumatic injury.

Ed Williams

Las Vegas

Foot in mouth

The cover story on your May 22 Travel and Outdoors section was about the Yukon Territory. It included a photo of a man holding an amputated toe and offered a partial explanation of the “sour toe cocktail” served in the Sourdough Saloon in Dawson City.

Here’s little more detail:

The cocktail can be any cocktail of the drinker’s choice — it needs only to contain the pickled toe (an amputated frozen toe). The drinker (probably after several of said cocktails) is required to let the toe touch his lips and he or she becomes a certified member of the “Sour Toe Cocktail Club.”

During our tour, the young lady driver of our tour bus became a member.

John Joines

Las Vegas

Restore the military

I would like to offer a tip to Donald Trump when he is out campaigning against Hillary Clinton for the presidency of the United States.

He should go out and pledge to our citizenry that if elected president he will immediately contact all of the generals, admirals and other high-ranking officers let go in recent years by President Obama, who in effect severely downgraded our military. Mr. Trump should offer those military personnel the opportunity to return to active duty. This might help rebuild our overall military position to one of respect.

Remember, Hillary Clinton, for the most part, has stated many times that she will closely follow Mr. Obama’s agenda.

Clarence Lanzrath

Las Vegas

Paranoid Hillary

Hillary Clinton’s email problems are not going away and now appear to have gotten worse with the release of the State Department’s inspector general report (May 25 Review-Journal).

It is clear that there was wrongdoing on her part in setting up a private server for her emails. She also lied about the practice being allowed.

The only question is: Why did she do this?

Hubris is an easy answer. We see it in most of our politicians.

Another reason could be that perhaps she suffers from acute paranoia. She freely chose a life in the political arena but is always complaining about being harassed by evil forces arrayed around her.

The inspector general’s report is clear: The actions she took were not allowed under State Department regulations. If the Department of Justice doesn’t indict her, it will clearly be an act of political interference by the White House.

James Magnuson

Las Vegas