Stryker Brigade wasn’t about ‘pork-barrel era’

“Stryker Brigade relocation has upside for state” (Star-Advertiser, Our View, July 11), commented that the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye brought the Stryker Brigade here during the “pork-barrel era.”

Is the writer aware that the newly adopted Stryker by the military brought on a strategy of accomplishing a combat mission without or with minimum casualties? It has the ability to fire a weapon remotely from within while moving up to secure an objective with soldiers inside of it. Inouye’s concerns were not about money but about ensuring our soldiers here were given the best weapons to accomplish their mission.

And live-fire training in Makua should be based on the needs of our soldiers and not on the opinions of those who are unaware that the training area is federal property, that it has been used for live-fire training since World War II, and that many who train there are locals.

Bill Punini Prescott
Nanakuli

Gassing feral chickens widely frowned upon

To respond to Arthur Warren and Ernest Scheerer, there’s nothing “humane” about gassing birds (“Don’t get irrational about feral roosters,” StarAdvertiser, Letters, July 14; “Let teenagers catch chickens,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, July 15).

It burns the eyes, nose, throat and lungs of the animals. It can cause severe nausea, vomiting, bloody vomiting and dry heaving, all while very slowly suffocating. They attack other animals, and often times the animals don’t die, and get thrown back in for even more suffering.

It’s opposed by the Humane Society of the United States and American Humane Association. Some of the states that prohibit gassing in some way include but are not limited to: Arizona, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Tennessee and Virginia.

The city for decades has deployed a great variety of hunters, trappers, exterminators and others. They are well aware that this is futile. They know birth-control feed works, but they would rather keep the contracts flowing for campaign dollars than solve the problem.

Frank DeGiacomo
Hawaii Kai

Cardiac and stroke unit is a blessing to Maui

One of the best things to happen to our only acute-care hospital on Maui in recent years was the development of our cardiac and stroke unit.

It is top notch, and has already saved hundreds of lives (“Lack of sick tickers saps hospital,” Star-Advertiser, July 13).

We hope the newly approved public-private partnership that the Legislature and governor had the wisdom to support will continue this trend of providing Maui residents and visitors with top quality, life-saving care.

We are also grateful to Wes Lo, the hospital CEO, and the Maui Regional Board for their vision and leadership.

Maui Memorial Medical Center is our only option and we want it to be great. With almost 200,000 people on island at any time, we need it to be great. Lives depend on it.

Tamar and Steve Goodfellow
Makena, Maui

Crew of ‘angels’ helped me to live another day

Last year, I suffered a heart attack in the Costco Kahului parking lot.

Luckily, bystanders (whom I consider angels), began to perform CPR on me. I wish I knew all their names to thank them — I know the Lord will bless them.

The next thing I remember was waking up at Maui Memorial Medical Center after being told doctors had performed emergency quadruple bypass heart surgery.

If not for the hospital’s heart unit, I don’t think I would have been able to make the flight to Honolulu.

I was told that I flat-lined three times. It’s a miracle. I don’t think I would have survived had it not been for all of my “angels,” including Dr. Dorheim and Dr. Lee at Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Lori Cabacungan
Waikapu, Maui