READERS WRITE: Health system separation long overdue, needed

Gov. Sonny Perdue announced last week that he will propose establishment of a Department of Behavioral Health as part of organizational changes separating mental health services from the Department of Human Resources.

As a former director of the Division of Mental Health, I welcome this move, which has been long overdue. The Division of Mental Health was established in 1963 within the Department of Health, and later, during the Carter administration, was placed at the Department of Human Resources, which was a nightmare of bureaucracy that included health, welfare, youth services, vocational rehabilitation, Medicare and Medicaid.

As part of the huge organizational structure of the Department of Human Resources, it was difficult to emphasize and scrutinize issues involved in providing services to the mentally disabled. Recent publicity about the deficiencies in the system proved there was inadequate attention to the problems by the Legislature and the administration, hidden behind the large bureaucracy of Department of Human Resources.

By having a more visible administrative structure and budgetary provisions, the Department of Behavioral Health will secure closer supervision and scrutiny by the legislators and public, which hopefully will lead to improvements in the quality and the effectiveness of services badly needed in the state.

Dr. ILHAN M. ERMUTLU

Ermutlu, of Alpharetta, was director of the Division of Mental Health from 1981 to 1983.

Drivers, remember students’ safety

Just a few weeks into this school year, I have observed many drivers who disregard speed limits and driving laws, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they are often endangering countless metro-area students. Whether racing by bus stops in the predawn hours, passing school buses with lights flashing and stop signs extended, or racing down the street in front of a neighborhood elementary school, these drivers make mornings and afternoons a dangerous time for our students. As we begin this school year, perhaps we could all do a better job of ensuring that our students are safe as they make the trips to and from school. Surely our students are worth more than the few minutes gained by racing through a school zone.

DIANE FREEMAN

Stone Mountain

Sen. John McCain

Responses to Mike Luckovich cartoon, @issue, Aug. 27

Cartoonist’s cynicism, anger cross the line

Often, after seeing one of Luckovich’s cartoons, I shake my head and wonder what it’s like to be so cynical and ideologically driven. Now he makes light of John McCain using his POW status as a differentiator to the Democratic presidential candidate, who he clearly favors.

Agree with him or not, McCain survived torture and isolation at the hands of our enemy for years while in the service of his country. McCain’s earned the right to use this experience to tell voters what he’s done and the sacrifice he’s made to protect the rights of Luckovich so he can pass judgment on everyone he disagrees with through the prism of his anger and in the name of free speech.

REED BEARDEN

Marietta

Hateful, tacky and disrespectful

I found the Luckovich cartoon on John McCain playing the POW card offensive. I understand that Luckovich is able to hide behind the “everyne-is-fair-game” mask, but the innate hatefulness and disrespectfulness of his humor gets old. If he wants to do a cartoon ridiculing McCain’s views or policies, go for it. But to even get near the subject of making fun of his years of being a POW is really tacky. What’s next, making fun of illness and disabilities?

ROBYN MASTANDREA

Bogart

Forget classics for students

How many in-the-trenches essays by high school English teachers will it take before we realize they are right (“Why teens don’t read: English teachers ruin it,” @issue, Aug. 28). Kids today have zero interest in classical literature. Cicero may have said, “A room without books is like a body without a soul,” but Holden Caulfield (in “The Catcher in the Rye”) summed it up better from the teenage perspective: “I read a book once … He said … that a woman’s body is like a violin and all … It was a very corny book.” Better yet, let’s remember the words of President Bush when he stated, “One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.” So it goes.

CLIFF MAZER

Atlanta

APF’s mission important

In reaction to your article regarding the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF), we publicly praise APF’s benefits to Atlanta’s law enforcement (“Right man for job gets top pay,” Metro, Aug. 27).

Having served eight years as president of Atlanta’s City Council and four as its mayor, plus a term as president of the National League of Cities, I can attest that police departments nationwide need citizen support. Atlanta is replete with public/private partnerships, arrangements that greatly leverage governmental funding in numerous fields.

The Buckhead Coalition was proud to be the catalyst in creation of our city’s APF with organizational and funding arrangements. We have been pleased with its services and believe Dave Wilkinson has been an excellent choice as its head.

SAM MASSELL

Massell is president of the Buckhead Coalition.