League devoted to empowering voters, even in primaries

For over 100 years, the League of Women Voters has been devoted to empowering voters by providing nonpartisan essential information to help voters make informed choices. Although its Voters Guide is not printed for primary elections, all candidates running for office and in the primary are contacted and requested to provide information about themselves, their qualifications and positions on important issues for posting to Vote411.org. Their responses are uploaded exactly as submitted by them. When a candidate doesn’t respond, this is a missed opportunity for them and for voters who may overlook them due to the absence of this information. The League of Women Voters of Greater Dayton does provide important primary election information for voters in Montgomery and Greene counties on its website at lwvdayton. org. By selecting Election Information under the Voter Information tab, voters can access candidate interviews and connect to Vote 411. They can check their registration and polling locations. Information explaining different ways to vote, and the applicable ID requirements can be found there as well as the schedule for early in-person voting beginning Feb. 21. Informed voters “know before they go.” For those with additional questions, the League can be reached at 937-228-4041.

— BETH SCHAEFFER,

I was in the Navy in 1962. I had a severe case of pneumonia. I was admitted to the hospital with a fever of 104.2. Due to the pneumonia, I was diagnosed with a condition called bronchiectasis. Due to this disorder, I could not serve on active duty, so I was diagnosed with a service-connected disability and honorably discharged. I quit smoking, and I took care of myself, and everything was fine until 1970. In that year, I started coughing up blood. I was admitted to the VA Hospital in Dayton. Brown Hospital was built during the Civil War. It was old, dirty and run down. It was a frigid January, and many alcoholic veterans came to the hospital to sober up. I was in the respiratory ward, but Brown Hospital was so overcrowded that many of the alcoholics were placed in our ward. These poor souls were chronic drunkards. Many of them suffered from delirium tremors. Some of these men hollered and screamed all night, so there was little sleep. All of this was a very unpleasant experience. I was employed at General Motors in 2004. GM filed for bankruptcy, the workers lost their health care benefits. I decided to consider the VA. I told a doctor about my experience in 1970. She assured me that was in the past and things were much different. I was impressed and ashamed that I let my prejudice influence me. I go to the Veterans Hospital for all of my medical needs. I am beyond pleased. I receive excellent care. The doctors, nurses, attendants, and business people are fantastic. The hospital is so clean that it shines. The patients have private rooms. The entire staff is caring and pleasant. Usually, there is little wait time, and if you do have to wait, there is a good reason for it. GM had excellent health care benefits, but they don’t come close to what the VA has. I would stay with the VA even if my GM health care benefits were restored. I am not the only one that thinks this way. I have investigated, and the Veteran’s Health Care is rated better than private hospitals.

— RICHARD DOWNING,