Letters to the Editor (March 21, 2024)

We’re in need of help  

Editor: 

On (a recent) Sunday morning, I got a frantic call from a friend in her 70s who lives alone. She had fallen, hit her head and was worried that she may have broken something.   

I knew Presbyterian Urgent Care in Belen had x-ray capacity so I picked up my friend to take her there. Presbyterian Urgent Care is not open at all on weekends and weekday evenings after 7 p.m. Did you know that?  

There are no other urgent care facilities other than Presbyterian in the Belen area. Belen and Rio Communities has no medical care except 911 on Saturday and Sunday after 7 p.m. Monday-Friday. Why?  

This is a serious problem for our area. Just 35 miles south of Albuquerque, a major city, but yet here we are, los pobres, no medical care for the whole weekend, holidays and evenings. The closest facility is in Los Lunas and it is not open in the evenings and has limited weekend hours.  

We need an emergency source of urgent care, always but especially weekends and evenings. Using 911 for non-emergency but needed care is a waste of an already-scarce resource.  

We have waited years for a hospital in our county. This lack of accessible urgent care needs attention from our county and state leaders! Let them know how you feel. 

Vickie Overpeck 

Bosque 

  

The right decision 

Editor: 

The Supreme Court made headlines with Trump v. Anderson, which said Donald Trump stays on Colorado’s ballot because a state can not enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against a federal candidate. 

The 14th Amendment is one of the changes we made to the U.S. Constitution after the Civil War. Section 3 denied certain offices if you had “previously taken an oath … to support the Constitution” and “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.” If you swore to protect the Constitution and became a Confederate general, don’t become a senator. 

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Section 3 keeps Donald Trump from being president because of what he did on Jan. 6, 2020, and Colorado law keeps him off the Colorado ballot.  

The Supreme Court — unanimously — said Colorado can’t do that. Consider two arguments that came up: 1. The 14th Amendment was meant to take away state power, not give it, and 2. Some states might kick a candidate off the ballot while others kept the same candidate on the ballot, which could get … messy.    

True, there was a lot the court did not say. It did not say what Jan. 6 was. It did not affirm the lower Colorado court’s finding that the presidency is not even covered by Section 3.  It said states can not enforce Section 3 against candidates for federal office.  

Give the court credit for considering who has power to do what. Results grab headlines. How those results are reached still matters. 

Jonathan Gardner 

Los Lunas