Feb. 8, 2013: Our readers write

Glen Dale still serves

Sunday’s paper included a touching story about the many lives changed over the years at Glen Dale Children’s Home. The home did not close in 2009, but just relocated. Glen Dale has never missed a day caring for children who desperately need our help.

I assure you that all of us at Sunrise Children’s Services – formerly known as Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children – are sentimental about the Glendale property and those who for so many years called it home. In fact, our new Glen Dale campus has a memorial garden complete with the original concrete arch that served as the entry to the original property. We also celebrate with our many alumni during our annual Glen Dale homecoming.

I invite the community to take a virtual tour of the new Glen Dale facility at www.sunrise.org and learn more about our work today. You will see that Sunrise’s mission is not now and never has been, about buildings and property. Our mission is about the abused, neglected and victimized children who come to us for help.

We, too, do not like the current state of disrepair at the former site, but operating and maintaining a campus that size is expensive, and despite our many efforts, we have found no one with the resources to use it. The property is available for sale, and I encourage anyone interested to contact us at info@sunrise.org or 1-800-456-1386.

Meanwhile, Glen Dale’s legacy lives on in the many young lives being served today.

Dr. Bill Smithwick

President and CEO

Sunrise Children’s

Services

Mt.Washington

Hold the line

Maybe all the gambling talk in Frankfort is causing AT&T Inc. to bet again this year Kentucky consumers will give up their Kentucky Public Service Commission protection of regular telephone service. And they will lose again because they are not putting all their cards on the table.

AT&T dealt three phony cards:

• “Comparable service (wireless)” will be made available if AT&T cuts your landline
• Kentuckyseniors will not be hurt by loss of PSC oversight, and
• Consumers have protection under federal regulations.

The cards under the table are:

• AT&T’s own disclaimer on its wireless product says “AT&T does not represent that the Wireless Home Phone service will be equivalent to landline phone service”
• Seniors already are complaining landline service is deteriorating and wireless service is spotty.

The third and largest hidden card is this:

• AT&T began the official process of destroying federal protections of landline users in November 2012 by filing an intent petition with the FCC. Once demolition of federal regulation is complete, giant AT&T wants to be free of state consumer protections such as those we still have in Kentucky.

Plain old telephone service is a lifeline for many Kentuckians and some medical and security equipment used by seniors requires a landline. It should be the consumer who decides to discontinue home telephone service – not some shark playing a strange version of three-card monte with our legislators.

Bill Harned

Shepherdsville