Romney’s rightto work stanceI am a retired blue collar worker/

tradesman and Vietnam veteran.Over a period of 40-plus years, Ihave worked in union and non-union jobs, being lucky enough torealize home ownership and prettymuch live comfortably providing formy family. During my career I tookpart in providing quality productsand services to this area and be-yond. My preparation and trainingand emphasis on high quality andworker safety was provided by theunion I originally belonged to. It setthe standard for high-quality manu-facturing and service in the metroarea and all over Michigan.For a “native son” Republican

candidate to have the nerve toeven come to this great state afterhe betrayed the auto industry andeven mentions his aim toward aright to work state is outrageous.I hope Michigan residents won’tstand still for this, especially my fel-low blue collar workers whose fa-thers and mothers shed their bloodto formMichigan unions. This areaplayed a huge part in the supportof our service men and womenduring World War 11 when it wasdesperately needed. Let’s not forgetwho we are.

John A. ThomsonNovi

Costs of Obama’shealth care mandatePutting aside religious and consti-

tutional issues, are you ready to useyour money to pay for the presi-dent’s HHS mandate? Politicians sayinsurance companies or employerswill pay for birth control, steriliza-tion, or abortion-inducing drugs,with no cost to the employee. Infact, however, neither the insurancecompany nor the employer will bepaying for these services. We will.Companies will simply get back

the money they spend for thesefree services by increasing priceson whatever they produce or sell.Costs will go up for things like gas,food, utilities, clothing, etc.So as you consider this health

care mandate, ask yourself: Am Iwilling spend my money so thatsomeone else can get free birthcontrol, free sterilization or freeabortion-inducing drugs? Remem-ber what your mom said: “There isno such thing as a free lunch.” ...or free health care.

Barbara PichanNorthville

Poor choices inRepublican fieldIn light of President Obama’s lack

of effectiveness, I would likely havevoted Republican but for the poorquality of the candidates. Whatcan one say about Mitt Romney’smealy-mouthed back-tracking ofhis Marie Antoinette-type of com-ment: “Let Detroit Declare Bank-ruptcy.”Then there is Santorum. With him

as president, ladies, you will wantto keep your whale-bone corsetsand aspirin handy. I hope that San-torum is enjoying driving his AudiA6, which is not made in America.Finally, there’s Newt whose

colleagues, after sanctioning him$300,000, won’t support him.More worrisome is knowing that

Newt has his finger on the bomb,a questionable temper and a lackof ethics. With Newt, the nationwould elect Dr. Strangelove.

John BullingtonNorthville

Red Kettle kudosThe Plymouth Salvation Army

Corps would like to thank the fol-lowing groups and people for theirhelp in nearly reaching its ambitiousgoal in the Red Kettle Campaign— $211,295 was collected in thekettles this season and an addition-al amount was mailed in, bringingthe total to over $309,951. Ourgoal was $315,000. The kettle atthe Northville Hiller’s, once again,collected the most money in thesix community service area. Thankyou to all who gave their time andmoney.Donn and Dianne McCulloch,

John Romanik, Deborah South-worth, Dave Favro, Carly Oostenand Northville High School NationalHonor Society, First PresbyterianChurch of Northville, First UnitedMethodist Church of Northville,Our Lady of Victory, Dave McKillopand Meadowbrook Congrega-tional Church, Dave Jerome andBronco Softball, Mike Babcock andKen Holland, and the Detroit RedWings, Northville Mothers’ ClubLife Members, Moraine ElementarySchool, Cooke School & DoloresJuncha, Cub Scout Pack 746 andSue Tracz, Rotary Interact andAndrew Chen, Carol Livermore,Ron Bush, Charlie Cox, Marge &Dave Longridge, Dick Gray, JoAnnHarris, TomWatkins, Betty Kaiser,Joan Bahl and Susan Couzens, JohnCarter, Les Lindenmuth, John andMary Jane Brugeman, Jane andBob Spence, Bill and Pat Longley,Paul and Tamara Stiles, Mary Culikand Bob Sharrar, Fran Firek, MaryChampagne, Judy Kohl, MorganHelwig, Gail McSeveny, GraceDeRidder, John and Jan Jameson,Laurie and TommyWooderson,Mary Stapleton, Karen, John andCullen Tabaczynski, Brett Juhasz,Michelle Kazewych, Amy Pawloski,Carolyn Nieuwkoop, Renee andAl Sanker, Chris Orlowe, JaniceSeluk and Stephanie Iverson, FranOakland, Sandy Woolfall and KathyZimmerman, Coleen Stevens, JudiGorden, Henry and Liz Morelli,

Marilynn Robison and Linda Clark,Andy and JoAnn Dalziel, Lisa andJoAnn Rennell, Susie Rompel, TravisFortier, JoanWadsworth, JanetYoung, Carolyn Roth, Lauren andCharlie Romeo, Barb VanderMassand Debbie Galloway, Joan and JimRucker, Jeff and Jenda Mills, MikeEdgerton, Chuck and Pam Burke,Linda Busse, Denise Taylor, DianneHubbard and Madeline Crawford,Sara, Peyton, Aidan, Steve and Tay-lor Ryan, Bob and Cathy Anthony,Bo Hall and Spencer and Jolie, JohnPitcher, Michelle Katynski and Jeff,Jake and Evan Lane.

Judy KohlNorthville Salvation Army RedKettle Campaign coordinator

Seven Mile Park a fraudEvery day I drive past our Seven

Mile Road “park” and gaze uponthe towering hulk of the formerstate psychiatric hospital, andwonder: “Howmany more yearswill this contaminated propertywill grace my neighborhood?”Frequently, I recall the personalassurances from the enthusiasticleader of the $21.5 million bondcampaign in 2009 to purchase theland, who told me that, “Makingthis property into a park will costthe residents of Northville next tonothing.”Three years after this dubious

promise we find out the real pricetag— $82 million on top of the$21.5 million we’ve already spentto purchase the land. My family isalready paying $300 a year towardthe purchase price of this “park”that we cannot set foot upon. Nowwe learn that it’s going to takeanother $82 million to realize thevision of completing this park.Let’s see— $300 per year from

my family’s budget to buy theland and $82 million to realizethe dream of Mark Abbo and ourtownship trustees to complete thispark. At that price, we will need tocontribute another $1,200 per yearfor 20 years from our family budgetto get the job done.Fifteen-hundred dollars year for

me and my family? I don’t thinkso. We have better uses for ourmoney. At that price, I would rathercontinue driving past that hulkingderelict collection of buildings foryears to come. At least it will serveas a constant reminder to neveragain allow ourselves to be sold abill of goods by politicians who areout to cover their blunders.I notice that the CEO of REIS (the

company that sold us this lovelyproperty), Robert Schostak, is nowthe chairman of the MichiganRepublican Party. I wonder whathe and Abbo have to say to oneanother about this whole deal. Let’ssee: 1) Schostak got stuck with aproperty that could not be devel-oped in the real estate meltdownof 2008-9; 2) Abbo fumbles thenegotiations with Schostak andcompany; 3) REIS threatens tosue the township of Northville;4) A plan is developed to bail outSchostak and REIS; 5) Northvillevoters hand over $21.5 million toSchostak and REIS.I’m sure when Abbo and

Schostak have their Republicanget-togethers they all have a bigchuckle over these dealings.

Annette MassonNorthville Township

Our fundamental purposes are to enhancethe lives of our readers, nurture thehometowns we serve and contribute tothe business success of our customers.

PAGE A10 . (NR)THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012

HOMETOWN WEEKLIESHOMETOWNLIFE.COM

Cal Stone,Community EditorSusan Rosiek,Executive Editor

Grace Perry,Director ofAdvertising

OUR VIEWSCOMMUNITY VOICE

LETTERS

Do you plan on voting in the Feb. 28 Michigan primary?

February is American Heart Month, andthe designation serves as an importantreminder of the devastating effects of heartdisease and what we can do about it.Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in

the United States.Every day, 2,200 people die from heart dis-

ease and stroke. That is one in every threedeaths — about the same number as thosewho die from cancer, lower respiratory dis-eases and accidents combined.Heart disease is one of most costly health

problems facing the United States today,accounting for more than $444 billion inhealth care expenditures and lost productiv-ity in 2010.Yet, heart disease is also one of the most

preventable causes of death.All Americans should be aware of the risk

factors that can lead to heart disease, includ-ing high blood pressure, high cholesterol,diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity, tobaccouse and family history.

T h e s e r i s kfactors can bereduced by eat-ing a balanceddiet, maintaininga healthy weight,limiting sodiumintake, exercisingregularly, avoidingtobacco and mod-erating alcoholuse.The Department

of Health andHuman Serviceslaunched an initia-tive in Septemberaimed at prevent-ing one millionheart attacks andstrokes in theUnited States over

the next five years.Called Million Hearts, the public-pri-

vate partnership is co-led by the Center forDisease Control and the Center for MedicareandMedicaid Services.The initiative’s goals include empowering

Americans to make healthy choices.You can do that by:• Taking the Million Hearts pledge at

www.millionhearts.hhs.gov and encouragingyour friends and family members to do thesame.• Being physically active for at least 30

minutesmost days of the week.• Knowing your ABCS — Ask your doc-

tor if you should take an aspirin every day;find out if you have high Blood pressure orCholesterol, and if you do, get effective treat-ment; and If you Smoke, get help to quit.• Eating a heart-healthy diet high in fresh

fruits and vegetables and low in sodium andtrans fat.• Following your doctor’s prescription

instructions.You can also learn more about heart health

by attending “Controlling Hypertensiion”with Dr. Susan Steigerwalt at 6:30 p.m.Thursday, Feb. 23. Sandwiches, salads andrefreshments will be served. To register,please call 866-501-DOCS (3627) so that wecan anticipate the number of attendees. TheConversations in Health series takes place inconference rooms A, B & C in the OutpatientCenter on the Providence Park campus(southwest corner of Beck Road and GrandRiver Avenue)Heart disease and stroke affect all of us.

Everyone of us knows someone who has diedof heart disease or stroke, depriving theirfamilies of someone they love.But, at the same time, everyone of us can

do something to keep heart disease andstroke from taking so many lives — startingwith our own.Commit to living a more heart-healthy life-

style. Do it today, and encourage those youlove to do the same.

Wewelcome your Letter to theEditor. Please include your name,address and phone number forverification. Letters should be400 words or less. We may editfor clarity, space and content.Submit letters via the followingformats.Web:www.hometownlife.comMail: Letters to the Editor,Northville Record, 101 N. Lafay-ette St., South Lyon, MI 48178Fax: (248) 437-3386E-mail: cstone@hometownlife.comBlog: You may also let youropinions be heard with your ownblog at hometownlife.com.Deadline: Letters must bereceived by 9 a.m. Monday to bepublished in the Thursday edi-tion.Online: Due to space limitations,not all letters submitted can bepublished in our print edition.However, all letters will be pub-lished online each week at www.hometownlife.com.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Preventheartdisease

Make healthy choices

— and encourage

others to do the same

All Americansshould beaware of therisk factorsthat can lead toheart disease,including highblood pressure,high cholesterol,diabetes,obesity, physicalinactivity,tobacco use andfamily history.

“I will absolutely bevoting. I vote in everyelection and always havesince I began voting.”

Willy MenaNovi

“You betcha’. I wouldn’tmiss it.”

George KortlandtNovi

“Yes. See I’m the trea-surer of the OaklandCounty Party -- plus it’sour responsibility tovote.”

Dave Staudt

“Oh my gosh, yes. I’vealready voted by absen-tee ballot.”

Kathy CrawfordNovi