Published: April 21, 2009 06:56 pm      

LETTERS: April 22, 2009

Reader: ‘Love never dies, but rumors do’ regarding Haven House



Where should I begin, or should I say, when will it end? Well, according to our president it will not end soon, because he said it will get worse before it gets better.

So, if you would ask me, I would say stand together because it will hit us from all directions and nobody in the United States can hide from it.

The only way we can make it through these though times is to put our heads and hearts together. Though the best way to do even that is to put our differences aside and confront the one thing we all have in common and that is preparing ourselves for the worst to come. And how do we do that? Six words: United we stand, divided we fall.

So, instead of using our egos, grudges and opinions that have nothing to do with why Haven House shelter was opened to begin with, we should start using our hearts for those who only ask for just a little love, which some never had the chance to ever experience. After all, love never dies, but rumors do. Speaking of which, just recently, we were told the very existence of this shelter is now on the line due to not only financial situations, but also from rumors that even I know for a fact are not true at all.

Though it’s been hard as a client, with my family here by my side, we’re not the only family trying to make it through these though times. Fortunately, there has been an opportunity offered to us to try to save the shelter for the sake of future families who will most likely be victims of displaced circumstances.

So, I will gladly rise to the occasion, because my heart says to do so, though my heart is only one, but I can only hope there are many more like it. And though this is only a possible solution for our fellow brothers and sisters, sons and daughters in the future, at least it will be giving them, and us, a trying chance to prove ourselves. Trust in our hope and believe in our need! We ask you, though we all are individual people with individual problems, can we not all share the same love?

I am the husband and father of two, who share the same individual problem and hope. May God be with us all!

— Jon R. Goode Sr., Jeffersonville



Don’t regulate ammo

In response to a letter I found in your paper recently, I noticed a submission by a reader who stated that regulating ammunition would be a way to limit firearm use. Yep, he is right. That would pretty much end the whole idea of self-defensive use of a legally owned weapon.

Does any one see that collecting, owning and legally firing weapons is what it’s about. It being common sense.

High profile over-covered killings and a decaying society are to blame and this policy of blaming weapons and there owners is just droning on and on. To the gentleman who wrote the letter, turn off the TV and think.

— Darrell L. Shake, Sellersburg





Learn more about autism

April is National Autism Awareness month in the United States, providing a chance to highlight activities, events and issues related to the needs of the autism community.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the way a person communicates, interacts socially and the interests and activities that they pursue. In the past, autism was thought to be a rare condition; now, it is recognized to be much more common, occurring in at least 1 in 150 individuals and touching the lives of us all.

As a result, it is very likely that you will encounter an individual with autism in your neighborhood, school or work setting, or your place of worship.

Learning about autism allows us to welcome people with autism into our communities and to benefit from their unique skills and perspectives. Always, but especially this month, the Indiana Association for Infant and Toddler Mental Health invites you to learn more autism spectrum disorders. We encourage you to visit Web sites such as the Autism Society of Indiana (inautism.org) to learn about local opportunities to observe National Autism Awareness Month. In addition, we hope you will visit the IAITMH site (iaitmh.org) to review, Autism Screening and Early Intervention: A Discussion Paper.

— Angela M. Tomlin, Ph.D., HSPP, associate director, Riley Child Development Center-LEND Program, Indiana University School of Medicine; and chair, Indiana Association for Infant & Toddler Mental Health; and secretary, Autism Society of Indiana, Indianapolis