Around Town : Senate passes a Medicare fix for everyone

BLANCHE LINCOLN

The U.S. Senate finally put partisan politics aside and recognized our responsibility to our nation’s seniors and military families through passage of the bipartisan Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act. This bill provides critical support for our health care providers in rural Arkansas, improves care and access for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, and makes much-needed reforms to Medicare Advantage programs. The final bill was a hard fought compromise that initially failed by one vote because of the Republican leadership’s insistence on putting President Bush’s agenda and insurance companies’ profits ahead of the needs of millions of seniors and military families. Faced with a deadline to pass this compromise shortly before the Fourth of July recess, the Senate went home without a new bill. As a result, physicians faced the possibility of a 10.6 percent cut in fees for seeing Medicare patients and would have been forced to severely reduce the number of seniors that they can treat. This woul - Wednesday, July 16, 2008

A Mother’s Musing : Larger schools have their advantages

LYNN ATKINS

Reading about small school districts in fiscal distress that face annexation gives me a feeling of deja vu. It seems like I’ve heard this debate before. In fact, it seems like I’ve heard it many times. Some people are passionate about the advantages of a small school. We hear about the kids getting individualized attention and being a part of a family at school. But I can’t help but wonder if the small- school advocates have been watching a little too much “Andy Griffith.” I can testify from my own personal experience that’s it’s possible to be overlooked in a small school. Of course I was happy to be overlooked in the small schools I attended. It seemed much easier to me at the time. I suspect that some kids can be overlooked in the smallest classes, while some kids are going to stand out in even a large group. It depends on the kids. When people tell me they want their children to go to a smaller school district than Rogers, I usually argue with them a little. I usually tell them about my Rogers High School - Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Out of My Mind : A lesson on perseverance from the birds

ANNETTE BEARD

A pair of house finches have taken up residence at the office. The male flits in and out of a hanging basket, to the handrail on the steps and then to a nearby electric line. The female has tried several times to build a nest on the top of a porch column, but the wind keeps blowing down her handiwork. She perseveres. He flies in, takes a look, and flies back out to continue is distant supervising. Every once in a while, he joins her on the top of the column, but stays only a moment. Recently, I’ve heard several people bemoan the state of affairs and what appears to be hopeless causes. Those complaints range from gas prices, the state of the economy as a whole, the state of the nation, state, city, school, culture, morality. You name it, someone has complained about it. What are we to do in the face of hopelessness? I heard a wise man recently talking about the state of the culture as he adamantly stated that our culture, as we know it, is doomed. If that’s so, why try, I countered. He said: “Because we’re not - Wednesday, July 16, 2008