Many collaborated for the sake of public safety

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the citizens of Allegheny County for all of the support they have given me over the last seven years. I also thank the foundations that have provided funds for programs at the jail and the religious volunteers whose work has been a most vital part of the support system. In addition, I thank the employers who employ the ex-offenders. I know that many former inmates have become productive members of society. They have gone to work, continued drug and alcohol treatment and have not victimized the public.

I pledged to this county, when I was appointed warden in 1996, that despite predictions that the new jail soon would fill to capacity, I would do everything in my power not to build an additional jail. I knew that given time, the programs that have been implemented would have a major impact on both public safety and on reducing the inmate population.

Today I am proud to say that the inmate count decreased by more than 300 in 2003, while at the same time the jail stayed within its operating budget. This reduction is also attributed to the relationships that have been established among the jail and the courts, the inmate diversion programs and the jail's collaborative reintegration programs. This collaboration has generated more than 4.5 million program-dollars at no cost to the taxpayers of Allegheny County.

If these programs are continued, the mission of protecting the public, which is well under way, will be accomplished. Public safety should continue to be the goal of Allegheny County, as it is the goal of the state and the nation. Today, Allegheny County's rehabilitation and reintegration programs have been recognized nationwide as a model for the future of corrections.

Lastly, I would like to thank former county Chief Executive Jim Roddey, former county Manager Bob Webb, all of the department directors and the employees at the Allegheny County Jail who have wholeheartedly supported the jail's mission and goals in working toward a safer place for the citizens of Allegheny County to live and work.

Although I will no longer be employed by the citizens of Allegheny County, my heart will always be with them and I will continue to work in their best interest.

CALVIN A. LIGHTFOOT
Monroeville

Editor's note: Mr. Lightfoot, along with 18 other top officials of the Jim Roddey administration, was fired in December by the new county chief executive, Dan Onorato.

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Bush's good fight

Thank you for publishing the best political cartoon I can ever remember seeing. I am referring to the "World View" cartoon by Tim Menees in the Dec. 28 Forum section, which had a selection of the PG's cartoons for 2003. For those who missed it, the picture was of President Bush holding a paper entitled "agenda," with an image of the burning twin towers in his head. This simple, single-celled image succinctly and dramatically illustrates the unwavering focus the president has kept for more than two years.

With the vast corruption in all levels and all parties of politics, idealism has become passe. I firmly believe that President Bush has made aggressive decisions to protect America (both physically and idealistically) because he, as he said, truly learned "the lessons of Sept. 11, 2001." I expect no less from my president.

Yes, we're spending an incredible amount of money that could be used for social programs. However, if the citizens of this country are murdered by our enemies, no entitlement will do them any good. If people look at the president as villainous now, imagine how he'd be remembered if another Sept. 11 happened on his watch because he refused to take preventative actions, out of fear of offending other countries that were benefiting from those who posed harm to Americans.

Being the leader of one of the biggest countries of the free world is not an easy job. But at least the man in office is able to make hard decisions that, in the end, are the right ones.

THERESA CECIL
Etna

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War's destruction

It is Daniel Fine's letter ("Let's Face It: The Enola Gay Led Us Down the WMD Path," Jan. 2) about the Enola Gay exhibit, the public protests and the need for an explanation of its history that is disingenuous in its assertion that "the Enola Gay pioneered the use of nuclear bombs as weapons of terrorism."

It is because, in my opinion, the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were no more or less weapons of terrorism and mass destruction than the fire bombs that destroyed Dresden and Tokyo or the conventional bombs that gutted Rotterdam and Coventry. I walked through Le Havre in January 1945 and over the course of about an hour saw only destroyed buildings.

I was in Hiroshima in November 1945 and was horrified by what I saw. I was in fire-bombed Kobe and Osaka about a month later and saw destruction that was just as terrible as what I had seen in Hiroshima.

Dr. Fine and others protest against the use of nuclear weapons, but it is conventional weapons that are being used to kill people every day. It is war in general, not just the use of nuclear weapons, that is hell. Dr. Fine didn't make that point; he should have.

LESTER BERKOWITZ
Squirrel Hill

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Save mailing money

Once again it's time for those of us who are self-employed to submit our quarterly estimated tax payments (due Jan. 15). The federal government and commonwealth of Pennsylvania mail all four quarterly forms at one time, but the city of Pittsburgh for some reason sends them in four separate mailings throughout the year. Wouldn't there be a substantial savings in one mailing rather than four?

I'm surprised that one of our well-paid employees in the city tax department didn't think of this over the years. We are trying to save money, aren't we?

JOSEPH CARLE
Overbrook

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City insanity

I understand the problems in the city of Pittsburgh perfectly. Residents elect the same politicians who then raise taxes, so people move from the city, so tax revenues go down. Then the residents elect the same politicians, who raise taxes, so people move from the city, so tax revenues go down -- on and on and on.

Who was it who said the definition of insanity is to do something over and over and expect a different result?

FRANK R. PERMAN
Shaler

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Failure to cooperate

How can any shortsighted North Hills Republican really believe that sending the city of Pittsburgh into bankruptcy would benefit either himself or his community? Shaler, Ross or McCandless townships would have no reason to exist without the city of Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh became a great city under the leadership of Richard Mellon and David Lawrence working together. Too bad their successors lack their vision and problem-solving abilities. Both houses of our bloated state Legislature need to forget politics and work together to solve these regional problems.

ROBERT P. BLACKMORE Sr.
Fox Chapel

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Ephedra ban sets bad precedent for consumer choice

The federal government set a dangerous precedent with its first-ever ban on an herbal supplement. Self-righteous Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson commented on the ephedra products ban by stating, "They are simply too risky to be used."

Millions of Americans take billions of doses of ephedra products each year, but only 92 deaths were attributed to these products over the past decade. According to a February 2003 RAND study of the Food and Drug Administration's ephedra files, most of the 92 deaths resulted either from exceeding recommended dosages or from existing health conditions such as liver abnormalities, as in the case of Baltimore Orioles' pitcher Steve Bechler. FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan even once admitted, "The overall evidence suggests that serious adverse events from ephedra appear to be infrequent."

In the meantime, the free market regulates itself. The private American Herbal Products Association first drafted ephedra guidelines in March 1994 and regularly updates its data to benefit consumers. Numerous clinical trials have conclusively demonstrated that ephedra products are safe and effective when used as directed. Additionally, nutrition and retail stores like GNC and Wal-Mart voluntarily removed ephedra products from their shelves months ago because of dwindling consumer demand.

As with all substances, ephedra use is not risk-free. Individuals and their doctors have the freedom to weigh the risks and consequences of many treatments, but the federal bureaucracy banned one more health-care option with its recent announcement.

MARK D. VALENTI
Robinson