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Thanks for light look at a heavy topic

A resounding mahalo to Star-Bulletin columnists Charles Memminger (Sept. 23) and Erika Engle (Oct. 6) for their articles on the weighty Verizon phone book issue. I immediately hoisted mine to our trash bin for recycling. Not only oldsters, but youngsters will be hard put to lift this monster. There are heavier problems in life, but why did Verizon have to add to them?

'Beating addiction' story tells it all

"Beating addiction," concerning the Carpenter family and their daughter's struggle against ice addiction (Star-Bulletin, Sept. 26), was truly outstanding. The Star-Bulletin and writer Nancy Arcayna and photographer George F. Lee should be congratulated for this informative article. The article performed a great public service.

Having gone through this ordeal with my own daughter, I felt every word rang true. Points that were made couldn't be emphasized enough. Important quotes to note were:

>> "Addiction is a disease. How an individual manages it determines the rest of their life and successes." (They must want to get clean and stay clean.)

>> "The disease does not discriminate. Anyone is susceptible." (There are users, abusers and addicts. Not all users become addicts, but some people can become addicts with the first hit.)

>> "When an addict hits bottom, they realize they need help." (However, someone, particularly a family member, has to be there when the addict finally cries out. If no one is there, the addict's bottom just sinks lower.)

>> "There is no cure. I deal with the issues every day. I'm in constant recovery." (Recovery is a lifelong project in which addicts must change their way of thinking, their attitude and the friends who got them involved.)

>> "When other people shared their stories, we could relate to various aspects. It made me feel all giddy inside. We were not alone." (This remark illustrates the value of such organizations as Hina Mauka that provide the support a recovering addict needs to get back on the right path.) Again, I can't say enough good things about this tremendous article.

Addicts must decide they want to be helped

With all the talk regarding drug addiction, when one becomes responsible for oneself, then and only then can one be helped. All the money in the world will not cure addiction if the addict does not want to be helped. Accept the problem and work on fixing it. I have yet to hear a success story regarding illicit drug use. I never knew anyone who had a problem using, only stopping!

It is possible for isle public schools to excel

Thank you for finally bringing to light the wonderful things that educators are doing in the Ewa community to improve the learning experiences of our children ("Campbell principal best in nation," Star-Bulletin, Sept. 25). When we bought our home in Ewa Beach more than three years ago, all we heard was how bad the public schools were and that we should put our kids in private institutions. We followed the advice and sent our daughter to a private school; our son went to Holomua (public). This year, we sent our daughter to Ilima Middle School for eighth grade. This was the best decision we could have made regarding her education.

Private schools offer a lot, but she was missing real world issues that teenagers face growing up and moving on to college. There is a different reality between public and private schools that most parents are willing to overlook for reasons of status. We realized that it's not where your kids go to school, but how much effort parents are willing to invest to ensure kids get the most out of their teachers.

This honor is a great accomplishment for Campbell High School Principal Gail Awakuni and an even greater accomplishment for Hawaii's school system. I hope that Awakuni's achievements create a domino effect and make all of Hawaii's public schools strive to become better.

Women's commission offers needed service

It is with great concern that I read about the governor's plan to cut the budget of the Hawaii Commission on the Status of Women. It is hard to believe that our first woman governor is the one who plans to terminate state funding of the commission.

I was part of the Women's Coalition for the first time last year. This group of women and those concerned with women and justice for everyone assist each other with the various issues before the Legislature. The commission and its former director, Allicyn Tasaka, have been the backbone of support for us all.

I am aware of the issues and organizations involved in the effort to advance the status of women and the conditions under which women work, raise their families and seek educational opportunities. So I find it difficult to understand how the governor's staff can defend the action and call the commission a "do-nothing organization." Unless the governor feels that women already have achieved equal status with men, I find it hard to comprehend what reasons she may have for wanting to dissolve the commission.

Tightening borders is part of war on terror

Americans have a unique opportunity to help fight the war on terrorism.

By voting the Democrats out of Congress on Nov. 2, we will be giving President Bush the power to better protect our nation and fight terrorism.

In return, Bush must respect the will of the majority and stop illegal immigration by putting troops on our southern border as the majority have stated.

Just think of the cost if we were losing war

Since both President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi agree that we are winning the war on Iraq, I'm terrified at the thought of how many Americans and Iraqi would be dying if we were losing that war.

Here's 2 good reasons to revive military draft

There has been a lot of talk about bringing back the military draft. I am completely for it for two reasons. First, during the '60s young adults protested the Vietnam War, exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. Just about every campus throughout the country engaged in healthy debate of the choices our political leaders were making.

My second reason is to make our lawmakers think twice about going to war. Right now the majority of the men and women fighting overseas come from lower-income families. Of all the members of the House, Senate and executive branch, only one has a child serving in Iraq. If war is such a good option, why are our representatives so unwilling to send their children to the front lines?

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[ BRAINSTORM! ] Planting an idea The first and last thing visitors see as they encounter Hawaii -- other than security personnel instructing them to take off their shoes -- is the elevated freeway by Honolulu's airport. Accordingly, when it was built, it was designed to be attractive, including a meandering garden running down the center of the lower level, and, up top, set between the elevated concourses, large planter boxes. The idea was to plant wonderful hanging gardens that would delight visitor and resident alike, and for a while, they did. But the state Department of Transportation is focused these days on potholes, not on making the roads look pretty. The elevated gardens have become choked with weeds and debris. So fire up those brain cells. What other use could these midair garden plots be used for? Thematic displays? Lei stands? Minimum-security prisons? Foosball diamonds? Storage for giant downtown Christmas ornaments? Headquarters for our newly reduced National Guard? A place for all the dirt from Castle Junction? Instead of offshore gambling, elevated gambling? Send us your ideas about what should be done with these highly visible, weed-racked lots. E-mail your ideas and solutions -- please include your name and address -- by Oct. 20 to: brainstorm@starbulletin.com Or fax to: Brainstorm! c/o Nancy Christenson 529-4750 Or mail them to: Brainstorm! c/o Nancy Christenson Star-Bulletin 500 Ala Moana 7 Waterfront Plaza Suite 210 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813