Students to offer sneak preview of musical

It's time to pass along some odds 'n' ends as we enjoy warmer weather and some sunshine.

Let's all hope the wintry mix last weekend was the last of the season. It's time to start working in the garden!

A sneak

preview

Linton-Stockton High School will present The Wizard of Oz on April 25-27. From what I've heard, it should be a great musical this year.

The students will offer a preview of the event Friday. It will take place at Francisco de Borja in downtown Linton.

It will start at 7 p.m., and admission is free.

You will also get the chance to meet the cast of the 26th annual Linton production.

The full production will be April 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Linton auditeria, and April 27 at 2 p.m.

Admission is $5, and tickets can be purchased at the high school. For more information, call 847-6024.

Father Vieck

in hospital

Father Hilary Vieck, pastor at St. Peter Catholic Church in Linton, has helped thousands of people in the Greene County community since he arrived in Linton on June 26, 1990.

Now, the Greene County community can return the support.

Vieck is ill and is at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove. You can send him a card at St. Francis Hospital, 1600 Albany St., Beech Groove, Ind., 46107. He's in room 601.

Unfortunately, Father Vieck can't have visitors at this time. He's expected to be in the hospital for four or five weeks.

Father Vieck is well known throughout the Greene County community, not only for his spiritual leadership, but for his love of painting, hunting, and wildlife in general.

His paintings can be found in many homes and some businesses. He painted a picture of my daughter playing golf. Father Vieck asked me one day if I had a photograph of Rachael and asked if he could paint a picture of her. Of course I agreed.

It took him less than two days to complete the project. The picture is in our living room.

Universal

health care

My wife and I had the chance to talk about universal health care with three Canadians this past weekend.

It opened our eyes.

Of course universal health care is a hot topic this election season, as both Democrat candidates for president -- Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- have a universal health care plan if they are elected.

I don't have enough space to go into detail what they told me about several incidents their families have dealt with, so I'll skim the surface. But you'll get the idea.

They love the fact that all services are free. But they don't like the fact that they have an average tax rate of 40-45 percent.

Getting certain procedures done can be a problem. One of them had to get a MRI, and it took five weeks to schedule.

One family member needed an emergency surgery, and was scheduled for a certain day ... but was bumped back because someone was moved up the list. Their relative died because they didn't get the procedure.

One of the three had breast cancer, and had the surgery within five days of being diagnosed.

Two of the three live in Florida during the winter months, and they like the fact that they can go get blood work done quickly since they have "cash." Getting blood work -- or anything that seems routine to most in the U.S. -- done quickly in Canada, according to the three, doesn't happen.

The three agreed that they know of many doctors who have left Canada for the United States because fees are regulated in their home country.

The bottom line seems to be that what we Americans accept as routine is anything but in Canada.

They agree that the health care system in England is much better than Canada or the United States.

I personally like the idea of universal health care, but I don't like the idea of paying another 10 to 15 percent in taxes.

It sounds so simple when Clinton and Obama talk about universal health care, but it's not.

Chris is the general manager/editor for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at 847-4487 or 1-800-947-4487 or by e-mail at cpruett79@hotmail.com