To The Editor:
The first time I heard the carol Angels We Have Heard On High was in 1969. This was at a Christmas pageant at a country church in Nunnally near Mena, Arkansas. We went to Mena during the holiday season each year, so my father could see his relatives. The Pastor and his son were good friends with my dad's sister Major Lois C. Putman, who was my Aunt. They would go deer hunting together on Aunt Lois's property. We were all invited to the Christmas pageant at their church. It was based on the nativity. They sang Angels We Have Heard On High. I was carried away with the Glorious in Excelsis Deo chorus. This past Sunday was our Christmas Cantata at First Presbyterian Church. One of our pieces had the Angels We Have Heard On High chorus in it. It was Joy Has Dawned by Lloyd Larson. I really liked the way our organist played it on our pipe organ. He really added the Bass from the pedal board. It made me get carried away. Put Christ in Christmas and have a Merry one yourself. Go tell a person Merry Christmas, where they are your best friends or worst enemy. We shouldn't hold grudges. Life is too short.
Donald Putman
El Dorado
To The Editor:
What is or should be partisan about personal safety and protection from a fatal disease. With all the tens of thosands who have died from Coivd, should behoove all to get the covid vaccines they can get. I am glad to be fully vaccinated. Why should President Biden be blasted and called a socialst for wanting vaccine mandates? President Biden is being far more realstic about covid than Trump ever was. Trump stuck his head in the sand and many foolishly believed him and called him patriot. Biden has enough work to unmake Trump's messes.Let's help him. This is another reason I wholeheartedly support him for reelection.
Leslie Putman
El Dorado
To The Editor:
In this season of reflection, I find myself deeply grateful for the physicians, caregivers and all of the team members at the Medical Center of South Arkansas (MCSA) who provide outstanding, compassionate care for residents of El Dorado and many other communities across the southern part of our state.
Living through a once-in-century global pandemic has been challenging for many. That's especially true for the men and women providing care for patients with COVID and other medical conditions for nearly two years now. Working together, the hospital team at MCSA has maintained a safe environment to protect caregivers and thousands of individuals in need of medical services. The team has adapted to evolving clinical guidance as more was learned about the virus and put that knowledge to work caring for very sick patients, tirelessly and with compassion. As Chairman of the hospital's Board of Trustees, I could not be prouder of them.
The pandemic underscored the importance of having a strong hospital in our community. MCSA, in recent years, has developed collaborations with several respected Arkansas institutions, including University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UMAS), Arkansas Heart and Arkansas Children's Hospitals, and thoughtfully added much needed services locally – such as the expansion of the intensive care unit and the behavioral health unit which is slated to open this spring. To grow the pipeline of physicians available to serve the southern part of the state, UMAS has announced a new regional campus in El Dorado where it will train family medicine residents and MCSA will serve as the local teaching hospital. These partnerships are enhancing medical services in our area now and for the future.
Similarly, changes made at the hospital in recent months create the potential for the hospital to continue its journey to becoming a regional hospital while strengthening its ability to provide quality care for the El Dorado community. I can't think of many things more important to the long-term economic success of El Dorado or southern Arkansas than a thriving hospital – which is why I am grateful for MCSA and its caregivers.
Robert L. Robinson, IV
Chairman - MCSA Board of Trustees
El Dorado