The Check’s In the Mail
To the Editor:
Your latest edition is the dose of fresh air I desperately
needed. I love all of it. “The Box-Cutter’s Tale” (Viewpoint,
October 4th issue) contrasts sharply with the irrational jingoistic reporting
on cable news stations and in The Commercial Appeal. The Buzz Poll
almost always asks perceptive questions and I think I am developing an
addiction to This Modern World. I would gladly pay for The
Memphis Flyer.
Your reporting always surpasses other news sources in Memphis. I
probably would not keep up with local news if it weren’t for the Flyer.
The other news sources in Memphis have such narrow commercial agendas. Please
continue the great work.
Howard Wiggins, Memphis
Synergy?
To the Editor:
When I read Tony Jones’ article, “Seeking Synergy”
(City Reporter, October 4th issue), I was excited to learn that the city of
Memphis was taking such a seemingly proactive and inclusive approach to
finding working solutions to the city’s challenges regarding housing, health,
education, transportation, economic development, and race relations.
My initial excitement quickly turned to disappointment when I
called the executive director of my neighborhood’s very successful Community
Development Corporation and learned that he had not been invited to be among
the “100 of the city’s top business and civic leaders.” I went on to
call many other good citizens that are generally recognized as community
leaders on the issues being discussed and learned that few of them had been
invited either.
If I were given to cynicism, I might think that this strategic
planning process was nothing more than a shallow attempt to prop up the
troubled Memphis Housing Authority that continues to languish under the hand
of the event’s organizer. Being an optimist, however, and trusting that our
elected officials and their appointees are truly working in the interest of
their constituents, I will instead assume that the invitation oversights were
the result of the city’s database crashing.
If indeed this is the case, I would be happy to help the city get
its database back in order by providing the contact information for the heads
of our community development corporations, community associations, and other
civic-minded non-profits in what ever format requested — free of charge.
Scott Banbury, Memphis
Videophile
To the Editor:
I don’t live in Memphis anymore but I visit often. So I always
look forward to checking out your Best Of Memphis (September 27th issue)
online. I mostly agree with your readers’ choices. This year, however, I could
not let them get away with their choice of Best Video Store without speaking
up. Blockbuster? Not a terrible video store, I’ll admit. I sometimes go to the
Blockbuster here in my own town. But the best?
You say that the reason you go to Blockbuster is
“bulk.” I say the reason you go to Midtown Video is that you can ask
a question like “What’s that movie where Janet Leigh checks into a motel
and Dennis Weaver is the night manager?” and not get a blank stare from
the guy behind the counter. So I propose you add a category to next year’s
Best Of Memphis. All of the true movie lovers in Memphis can vote for Midtown
Video as Best Video Store and everyone else can vote for Blockbuster as Most
Video Store.
Meggan Conway, Lexington, Kentucky
Private Rehab
To the Editor:
In the September 20th issue, an article in City Reporter by Janel
Davis touched on an extremely important issue in Tennessee. I would like to
point out that there is an alternative for clients turned down for rehab
services.
There is a facility that is unique in the West Tennessee region.
It is a Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility (CORF), and we offer
respiratory, physical, occupational, social, and speech therapy. For people
who don’t want or need to go to a hospital, for people who don’t want or need
to pay the costs associated with therapy in a hospital, and for people who
need more comprehensive therapy than a regular outpatient clinic can provide,
CORFs come in handy.
Where our government has (once again!) let us down with our
health-care system, our facility can fill in the gaps. The fact that rehab
costs are rising does not excuse the fact that many people will be left at a
standstill due to budget cuts. Our objective is to help people in those types
of situations. We are a rehab service, not a government-run agency that has to
turn people away due to budget cuts.
Angie Jones
Assistant Administrator, Midsouth Therapy Center, Inc.,
Memphis
The Memphis Flyer encourages reader response. Send mail to:
Letters to the Editor, POB 1738, Memphis, TN 38101. Or call Back Talk at 575-
9405. Or send us e-mail at letters@memphisflyer.com. All
responses must include name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters should
be no longer than 250 words.
