Published: June 12, 2008 05:05 pm            

LETTERS: June 13, 2008

Why enforce parking now?



I have lived in Jeffersonville for the last 14 years. For 14 years my wife or myself, then later my daughter, always parked a car in the street or up on the sidewalk and have never recieved a ticket.

Recently, my daughter had a parking ticket on her car. I called the police department and asked about the ticket. The response I got was "Well, we have overlooked this law over the last four years and now we have decided to enforce it."

Now I'm not from here, however, you drive around and you see everyone's car, boat or trailer parked in the street or the sidewalk. Are these people getting tickets as well?

When I asked if they get to pick and choose what laws are enforced, the conversation started going bad. I also asked if enforcing this law had anything to do with the city being short on the tax money they get from the state. I think I hit another nerve.

OK, I had the car on the sidewalk, but I was told parking on the street was not allowed as well. So if you have an extra car, your kids have a car or if you have someone from out-of-town stay over I guess you’re due a ticket.

Has anyone else received one?

— Larry Squyres, Jeffersonville



Donated organs should go first to organ donors

This is a response to The Tribune June 3, 2008, article “Floyds Knobs man celebrates one-year anniversary of double-lung transplant”

David Keller was very lucky to get a lung transplant. Over half of the 99,000 Americans on the national waiting list will die before they get a transplant. Most of these deaths are needless. Americans bury or cremate 20,000 transplantable organs every year.

There is a simple way to put a big dent in the organ shortage — give organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die.

Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. People who aren't prepared to share the gift of life should go to the back of the transplant waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs.

Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a nonprofit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die. Membership is free at lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88. There is no age limit. Parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition.

— David J. Undis, executive director of LifeSharers

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.