Collecting badges of honor

Collecting badges of honor
EDITOR:
I am a police officer for Metrohealth System Police Department in Cleveland. I was diagnosed with Lymphoma in May 2003 on my 40th birthday. While in isolation fighting cancer at Metrohealth, I decided to fight this cancer in many ways. First, and most importantly, to beat this cancer, and secondly to raise funds for a cure to beat it.
I decided to raise money by breaking the world record of the most donated safety forces service patches from around the world, then auction them off on eBay in honor of police officers, firefighters, EMS and security personnel. The donations will be split between the American Cancer Society and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Due to health setbacks, I had to move the auction back one year to Sept. 11 of this year. My goal was 5,000 patches, but I am far from reaching that goal. The record goal is 2,811 since the record is 2,810 patches. There are four months left until the deadline. Please, if you like the idea, pass the information along or contact officer Dillon at P.O. Box 292, Munroe Falls, Ohio, 44262 or at mhpd242@sbcglobal.net.
SCOTT L. DILLON
Munroe Falls
Strickland backs real reform
EDITOR:
Ted Strickland has a strategy to make higher education more affordable and attainable for Ohio's young people. The writer of a May 21 letter to the editor made several statements and assertions that are simply out of touch with the real world. How could anyone suggest that our college instructors are over-paid when the business sector is hiring them away at twice the money? To suggest that tuition is simply too high and institutions of learning should cut costs isn't a bad idea, but in order to stay competitive, our universities face skyrocketing overhead, not just of salaries, but all of the other financial demands from building maintenance to classroom equipment.
Does the letter writer really believe that every child who studies hard and keeps his or her grades up will get a scholarship? How many scholarships are out there and where do they come from? Let's look squarely at the problem. We are in a world where yesterday's skills are not always going to cut it in tomorrow's job market. It is up to the schools K-16 (and higher) to prepare those kids for the future -- everyone's future.
Mr. Strickland suggests that we raise aspirations of going to college by giving a hand up (not a hand out) to parents who plan and save for their children's education. He will work with institutions of higher education to establish tuition guarantees so we can have tuition predictability, but the schools will need help with that. Ted Strickland knows that until we have a challenging and relevant curriculum in our schools, our students will not be prepared for the future. How do we do that? We're back to the same old story -- we need better education for our teachers, challenging curriculum and relevant testing for each student. I think that the financial investments that Ted Strickland proposes is not socialism but democracy at its best. Let's elect a governor who will really make a difference in our schools from the very youngest child to the most prepared adult in our brave new world.
BEA DELPAPA
Llisbon
'Da Vinci' lacks biblical link
EDITOR:
In response to the hoopla over the "The Da Vinci Code," the book's theories are not mentioned in the Bible, the basis of story, so its veracity is immediately suspect.
I would be very leery before attaching this or that notion to someone who is indeed the Christ.
BRUCE R. BLOOMBERG
Struthers