To the Editor-

Our elected officials should be consumed with protecting our most vulnerable citizens.

Our elected officials should be committed to protecting the jobs and benefits of our dedicated county employees. In particular, the current and future residents of the Portage County Health Care Center and the angels and saints in white who care for them.

That’s why I have to question the motivation of our County Executive, Patti Dreier and why she is so hell bent on ridding our county of this vital institution which has been in existence for generations.

Is it time we start we start connecting the dots to figure out what she’s up to? She seems to be eliminating every possible obstacle in her way to achieve a personal agenda, that is, to push the services of the Portage County Health County Center into private hands.

When someone is so obsessed it begs the question, what’s in it for her? The news is full of reports of politicians who have benefited financially after leaving office because they have carefully crafted sweet heart deals for big business while in office. Is the groundwork being laid here? If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.

It has been suggested there are many other skilled nursing options within 30 miles of Portage County. To those who make this suggestion, I ask, will you be providing the 60 mile round trip daily transportation so relatives can visit and monitor the care being given? If not, it’s a hollow suggestion.

I can’t imagine closing the health care center will be the hallmark of her legacy in office. It would hardly be a winning slogan to run on next time around. Images of grandma and grandpa out on the street would scarcely win her reelection.

When a politician refuses to listen to their constituents, the public trust is broken. That’s a fracture that cannot heal. It will be a bitter pill for the County Executive to swallow when the voters turn a deaf ear the next time she asks for their vote.

Joe Roppe
Stevens Point