LETTERS: County guardianship system a disgrace

To the editor:

I am in a state of shock after reading the article on Clark County’s private guardianship system (“The power to help, the power to abuse,” April 12 Review-Journal). I loved Nevada for its sunshine and care of elders. I bragged about this state for retirees. Little did I know what was going on behind closed doors. Disgusting.

To think so many people here have known about the guardianship system for years and kept their mouths shut about the corruption. It took one woman to bring this all to the front and demand it be told, and finally the newspaper brought it out, too. To find not even background checks are required to become a guardian? How crazy can you get to let this take place?

I thought I was safe and tried to prepare with a will and a trust to keep my children in the know, only to find out none of this would be any good because they live out of state. I am 82 years old, on oxygen and could trip and fall, and land myself in the hospital, then find myself taken over by a guardian, and there would be nothing my children could do to control it. The county-appointed guardian could spend my money and sell my house. This keeps sounding crazier by the minute.

Now the county gives garbage excuses — they didn’t know and complaints weren’t followed up on. Did county officials not have the guts to suggest we might change the laws? Was there payoff to the people who helped to implement this? The only suggestion I could give to seniors is to move out of state.

SHIRLEY L. THOMPSON

HENDERSON

Common Core crash

To the editor:

Is there a pattern here? Obamacare sign-ups were and still are a big problem. That’s because the programming put together by Michelle Obama’s friends — who got a half-billion-dollar, no-bid contract — was a disaster. Now, Common Core testing in Nevada, to measure achievement in math and English, is suspended because the assessment company is not prepared to handle the data coming in (“Officials aggravated by testing breakdown,” April 16 Review-Journal).

My guess is that the company is much better prepared to manipulate the data to show that just a third or so of the schools are OK and the rest are deficient — just as Bill Hanlon told us in a Nov. 5 Review-Journal op-ed (“Common Core must prove it’s not cash-grabbing hoax”). The State Board of Education and our Legislature need to wake up and get Nevada out of Common Core. Control of education belongs close to home. Anytime we let Washington control anything, we wind up taking federal funding that always comes with strings attached.

OWEN NELSON

LAS VEGAS

Sebelius on term limits

To the editor:

Steve Sebelius outdid himself with unsubstantiated claims in his little fit over term limits and supermajority limits on the taxing power of the Legislature (“Reconsideration of term limits won’t happen this year,” April 15 Review-Journal). Here are a few demagogic gems: “anti-democratic,” “Those two ideas have caused nothing but trouble …,” “the state would be immeasurably improved by their immediate repeal.”

Of course, Mr. Sebelius quotes state Sen. Tick Segerblom, an advocate for repealing term limits and also the poster child for why we need term limits, given that career politicians seem to run in his family.

No thanks, Mr. Sebelius, I don’t need any career, “smart, experienced lawmakers” who through patronage stay in office and line their own pockets at the expense of their constituents.

Actually, on second thought, perhaps the term limits amendment should be changed — from 12 years to six.

DON BRADY

HENDERSON

Execution facility

To the editor:

Is Greg Cox, director of the Nevada Department of Corrections, not able to think? He is requesting $829,000 to build an execution facility (“Execution chamber requested,” April 12 Review-Journal). Keep in mind, this is only an estimate — the actual cost would probably be a lot higher. All of this to maybe execute an inmate sometime in the future, which is very rare in Nevada.

I have an idea, one that Mr. Cox apparently can’t conceive: Next time, if ever, we decide to execute someone, let’s contract with Texas to carry out the execution. Texas is proficient in this procedure, and it would be a lot cheaper.

Oh, I forgot, bureaucrats like to build empires so they can bilk the taxpayers for additional funds.

BRYCE LEE

LAS VEGAS