Serving community’s needs
Give thanks to libraries
Regarding “Libraries ready to turn page,” (A1, Feb. 5): It was great to see an article about our libraries on the front page. During this pandemic, they have worked hard to serve the needs of their customers. If you live outside Houston, the Harris County Public Library System is ready to serve you. Their 26 branches are offering many of the same services as Houston Public Library including curbside pickup, virtual story times, book clubs, crafts and more. So, if you live outside Houston, check out the Harris County Library System.
Susan Greer, Spring
Count me out
Regarding “Fellow Republicans, our party must evolve,” (A15, Feb. 3): If white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis and Marjorie Taylor Greene are the new conservatives of the Republican Party, then count me out. I have been a lifelong Republican, even considering myself a conservative, but I thought that conservative meant having intelligent, moral convictions. If conservative now means believing bizarre conspiracy theories, following the cult of a person determined to be dictator and leaving intelligence and morality behind, then again, count me out. If the Republican Party is ever to be whole again, then it needs to be moral again.
David McCorkindale, Katy
Safety first
Regarding “Pasadena plays defense on pollution,” (A1, Feb. 3): A photo on the front page of the Houston Chronicle caught my attention. The man climbing a ladder in the process of placing an air monitor was making a common mistake that leads to injury. Safe practice is for a worker to climb the ladder first, then lift up the bulky or heavy equipment from a secure area on the roof with a rope or sling. (If the item isn’t too bulky or heavy, workers can safely carry equipment up ladders as long as both hands are free to grip the ladder.) One of the key concepts with climbing a ladder is three points of contact. I have seen a worker fall and the fatalities from workers falling because three points of contact were not maintained.
In the case of the Chronicle’s photo, one hand is constantly occupied with holding the air monitor, which poses a risk of falling every time the climber needs to move his ladder-gripping hand. The air monitor in the photo appears to be bulky enough to present a problem in negotiating it past the eaves of the roof. Accidents rarely happen without a conjunction of circumstances, and the situation shown in the photo could turn into an air monitor catching on the ladder or the eave, causing the climber to miss a handhold or even tipping the ladder altogether. I’d like to encourage the editors and my fellow Chronicle readers: Be safe with ladders and follow OSHA’s excellent guidelines.
Elizabeth Jensen, Spring