Paramedics came to the rescue

Editor:

My family and I express our deepest appreciation for the paramedics of Clear Creek Ambulance, who were not only skilled and efficient but compassionate and informative during an emergency we experienced recently in Georgetown.

We were visiting the town to cheer on my sister’s finish in the Slacker Half Marathon on Saturday, June 27, (and enjoying the amazing playground in the park) when my almost-2-year-old son choked on a piece of food. Despite our efforts to get him to expel the food, he stopped breathing, turned blue, and lost consciousness. Friends were able to find the paramedic teams, who had been on hand for the race, only a block away. They were quickly on the scene and made the decision to run with my son back to the ambulance in order to perform any necessary life-saving measures. Fortunately, the blockage in his throat came loose during the run to the ambulance, and he began to breathe.

My son and I were then taken to Denver by ambulance for his follow-up care. Paramedic Mike Wilson, who escorted us in the ambulance, was extremely helpful and reassuring. Other members of the team were very compassionate toward and concerned about our family members who stayed behind. We were lucky that such a terrifying situation occurred when help was nearby, but we cannot overstate our thanks to the paramedics. Because of them, my son has had no complications and is doing well.

 Molly Dietz Pickett

Falls Church, Va.

and the Dietz Family

Greeley

Charlie’s Place thanks ‘Slackers’

Editor:

The Clear Creek/Gilpin County Animal Shelter, Charlie’s Place would like to thank all of the “Slackers” for running the Slacker races in Georgetown on June 27. 

As a beneficiary of the race, the shelter is so grateful for your contributions. The money raised by the event will be put toward medical expenses for shelter animals, training and rehab to make the animals more adoptable, as well as behavioral enrichment opportunities. 

Charlie’s Place continues to strive to maintain a low euthanasia rate in a manner that is responsible to the public, giving local animals a second chance at life.

We thank all of the supporters of the Slacker Half Marathon/Relay/4 Mile for your assistance in helping us fulfill this goal. 

Sue Peterson

manager

Charlie’s Place, the Clear Creek/Gilpin Animal Shelter

Laurie Phenix

Friends of Charlie’s Place

Religion is part

of America’s foundation

Editor:

Jerry Fabyanic is a friend of mine. Agree or disagree, I enjoy debating the issues of the times with him when we have the chance. It is always lively and enlightening. His last article got me in the debating mood, so here goes!

I agree that the Constitution is the foundational document of America’s structure whose spirit and purpose is found in the Declaration of Independence. Even as much as we have beaten the Constitution up with our various interpretations through the decades, it is still what we must reconcile our ideas with and refer to when defending our beliefs in the public arena.

But the Constitution was not written in a void, nor was its content defined only by the few who wrote or signed it. It was a product of its times and the Americans it was written for who believed in it. The Constitution found life in what preceded it and brought it into being. The Constitution did not verbalize every idea that was held dear or believed in when it was written. (The Declaration of Independence comes closer to that.)

But in any written document, a whole host of things are not said that are so fundamental and basic to the audience it is written to or for they aren’t even mentioned.

Those unspoken things are that basic to the group’s central consciousness. Only with that concept in mind can we hope to gain fuller insight into the Constitution’s intent. Take the belief in God or a Creator. God wasn’t mentioned in the Constitution (though God is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence), but I submit to you that the Constitution wouldn’t even have been written as it was — or at all — without the underpinning of the people who came to this country to practice religious freedom. It was that foundational to the document itself. So I believe you not only have a right to bring your religious beliefs to the public debate — you have a responsibility to do so, just like those who have no belief in any God have a right to do so. Believing in a true God is a belief. Not believing in any form of God is a belief as well.

Everyone has their own belief system. That’s fine. Our wonderful system of government allows for that. However, it is not reasonable for anyone to say I must leave my beliefs based in faith at home so as to allow someone with a different belief system to define the public debate. I believe the separation of church and state has benefited both church and state.

But the current desire for a severance of church and state in the public arena would eventually undermine the very spirit of those amazing times in which the Constitution was written and diminish our understanding of the Constitution today. Bring your whole self to the public debate no matter what you believe or believe in or don’t believe! That is America.

Tom Wilson

Georgetown