Dear Editor,

I would like to warn people (especially business owners) of something I have been faced with recently.

In May, a woman and her two grandchildren came into my barbershop. These kids were totally out of control. The children went outside, stood up on a bench outside my windows and started beating on them. The grandma ran out cussing and yelling at them and went outside to get them.

On her way back in the door, she took one step in my door and fell in the splits. The first thing that I did was to ask her if she wanted me to call rescue. She did not want me to. Two months later, she calls me asking if I filed a report on this incident, and if I had insurance on my business. I told her I did, but that since she had refused to let me call rescue and since she had waited two months, I was not sure anything could be done.

She said she had torn some ligaments in her leg and that her doctor told her she needed to stay home for a while and heal. She stated she needed some kind of &8220;compensation&8221; that would pay her bills while she was out of work. She mentioned her car payment to be exact. She never mentioned needing money to pay her medical bills.

I contacted my insurance company and explained what had happened. My insurance company contacted everyone that was in the shop at the time. We all had the same story except for her. She stated she slipped on hair. She did not slip on any hair; my styling chair is at least 10 feet from the door.

I am sure she thought she would not get any money if she had said she just fell. So she had to think of a story that would be believable and hold me responsible. Little did she know they would have paid regardless of fault. But they will only pay her medical bills.

I bet she never considered suing her daughter for not teaching the kids how to act in public. She didn&8217;t sue the grandkids since they were the reason she had to run outside. Sounds ridiculous, huh?

Well, that&8217;s what I think about her suing me just because she was in my place of business when she fell. Homeowners and business owners, beware of people like this.

JoAynn Jordan

Shelby

Dear Editor,

As a resident of the Cahaba Lakes apartment complex, I was shocked to discover that local government has allowed the construction of another massive mixed-used property, Edenton, on Cahaba Beach Road, but has still failed to repair or replace the bridge over the Little Cahaba River on that same road.

Traffic has already increased through the only light out of the heavily populated area on U.S. Highway 280, and residents are placed in danger by the lack of a second evacuation route.

The bridge needs to be repaired or replaced even if the connecting road remains unpaved.

Joshua Szulecki

Birmingham

Dear Editor,

As a dialysis nurse, I have the privilege to serve approximately 500 patients in my community of Shelby and Jefferson counties.

As your readers may know, dialysis is a blood-cleansing process necessary for those who have lost kidney function. The care we provide is not optional, short of a kidney transplant; dialysis treatments are (simply put) life-saving.

There is a debate in Washington, D.C., that will cut future Medicare payments for these life-saving treatments.

I find it alarming (as a caregiver and citizen) that our elected officials are threatening to cut this Medicare benefit for the most vulnerable of our community, especially when many policymakers know that this program is already underfunded as it stands.

Clearly, our elected officials in Washington must ensure that this cut is reversed.

It is necessary to ensure quality care for the citizens in our community and our country who rely on dialysis for quality of care and quality of life.

Angie Kurosaka, RN, CNN

Columbian