Just Sayin': Speed up golf at Eisenhower
Hannah Pohalski of Our Lady of Mercy Academy putts on the 17th Hole of Eisenhower Park's White Course during the NYCHSAA varsity girls golf state championship. She shot a 13-over 85. (June 4, 2012) Credit: James Escher
The White Course, one of three golf courses at Eisenhower Park, should be privatized. A private company could do a better job than Nassau County of managing this course.
Where the management falls short is the White Course is set up for U.S. Open Championship play with narrow fairways.
The grass in the first rough is so high that balls disappear, challenging the average player to find them. It takes too much time to find the balls and the slow play becomes frustrating.
The rough beyond has two-foot grass to mimic sheep meadows at the turn of the last century, further compounding time to finish a round of golf.
Rocks the size of potatoes make hitting out of a sand trap a real physical hazard.
Complaints go nowhere. The overall fairways are super, including the greens, so some changes would make for excellent golfing. The White Course could attract more golfers and more revenue to keep the courses looking good. Faster play is the bottom line.
Cut the rough and sift the sand traps.
Nick Giroffi, Hicksville
Runaround to get dental care
I've been reading about local prisoners experiencing delays in vital health services. Nursing homes have been investigated for neglect, which in one instance led to a woman's death.
Another group that is also underserved are the developmentally disabled. I have experienced this firsthand. My brother is nonverbal and resides in a group home for the developmentally disabled in Suffolk County. For the past two years, he has needed extensive dental work. Among other things, he has an abscessed tooth.
His nurses have been working hard to get him treatment. The health care clinic he goes to stated he needed treatment in a hospital operating room. None of the dentists at his clinic have hospital privileges.
He's had four evaluations at different clinics affiliated with hospitals, and their waiting lists averaged six months or more. I can only imagine the pain and the effect on my brother's general health that this delay has caused him.
It seems the prisoners, elderly, veterans and developmentally disabled are the last on the list to get proper and timely health and dental care. Being shuffled from one clinic to another with repeated evaluations, resulting in no treatment, is frustrating.
Since my brother is nonverbal, he's counting on his family and caretakers to advocate for him. Hopefully, bringing attention to this will mean that others will not suffer through this needless bureaucracy. There must be a better way.
Jill DeMay, Farmingdale
Turnpike repaving done right
Hempstead Turnpike is undergoing a great repavement. I would like to say thank you to the people doing the work.
The job was started many months ago, but from Day One, I never was inconvenienced. I haven't even seen workers. I would go to bed at night, and wake up the next morning and "Bam!" Another part of Hempstead Turnpike was repaved.
It's like magic. Someone got it right when they decided to do the work at night.
Riding on Hempstead Turnpike now is like when I was young -- a smooth surface. Again, I thank you, and my car thanks you.
Edward Tardibuono, Levittown
