Letter to the Editor – Recall Election

Letter to the Editor:

The Recall Election of Directors Candy Ruedeman and Marge Campbell on the Prowers Medical Center Board of Directors is coming up. Many people say they don’t know if they will vote or not. Many don’t really understand the issues and they “just want to stay out of it”.

What is really disturbing is hearing someone say they aren’t going to vote because of their fear that someone will find out how they voted and then retaliate against them.

Apparently, there were community members contacted by both Directors Ruedeman and Campbell once they received a copy of the validated petitions against them. Once they saw the names of some of the individuals who had actually signed the petitions, they began calling or approaching some of them and “harassed” them for signing it. Those same individuals are now afraid that they will receive some of this same harassment once they vote.

First of all, it’s your right as a U.S. Citizen to voice your opinion and vote. Secondly, there are State statutes that dictate how the ballots are counted and no names are associated with the way the voting and counting process is done. Most importantly, the harassment described above is illegal. There are penalties associated with it.

It’s upsetting to me that these two (2) females have led people to believe that the hospital is not doing well and that the current management staff are keeping secrets, i.e. they are not willing to accept things at face value. Let’s talk about their request for “full transparency”. Maybe someone should ask them the reason why they are no longer employed at Prowers Medical Center or the real reason they ran for the Board. They say that they don’t have a hidden agenda or personal vendetta. Then why are they continually digging for information from several years ago? Asking questions is one thing, but digging for dirt is quite another.

If you have questions about the hospital contact someone who actually has the documentation that demonstrates the growth of the facility or supports decisions being made. Don’t take the word of someone who remains bitter about something that happened many years ago. Better still, attend a Board meeting. They are open to the public.

The outcome of the Recall Election is in the voters hands. Vote yes in favor of the recall to effect positive change in the leadership of the hospital’s Board of Directors.

Darla Mahanay
Lamar