Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Don’t punish good deed

Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2003 | 9:13 a.m.

DR. LONNIE HAMMARGREN is known by hundreds of his patients as a man who cares about them. Not only is he known as a caring physician, he is also respected as a talented and trusted neurosurgeon. Because of his concern about some information in the New York Daily News, he gave the press his evaluation of the operation performed to save the life of entertainer Roy Horn. In his comments, he showed his personal concern for Roy's health and praised the work of the doctors performing surgery and even gave credit to some of the information in the Daily News story.

During this same time period other doctors appeared on different television programs giving their views of the surgery performed on the entertainer. One was sitting in New York giving his expert opinion about the surgery. As one of Roy's millions of concerned fans, I was relieved to hear Hammargren's remarks.

Almost immediately there was concern that Hammargren might have violated UMC hospital policy when discussing Roy's surgery. Then came some discussions about UMC taking disciplinary action against him.

Who is making an issue out of Hammargren's comments? Certainly they must have better things to do than attack a respected surgeon who has shown his warm personal feelings and concern about Roy.

Luther Mack, the chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, is resigning to avoid conflicts as he joins the Boyd Gaming Group. Nevadans have been proud of Mack's actions as a leader for the commission. Very quietly he has faced several severe tests of the commission during his long tenure. He voted his conscience without making a big show or questioning the intentions of fellow commissioners who voted differently.

The commissioners don't have to look too far for Mack's replacement as chairman. Vice Chairman John Bailey will take over as chairman until the end of this year. Bailey, also a man whose integrity can't be questioned, is a bright and articulate attorney. He has all of the qualities needed to lead the commission during the coming years.

Gov. Kenny Guinn has selected attorney Joe Brown to fill Mack's vacant seat on the commission. Membership on the NSAC is one of the governor's most sought after appointments.

The Patriot Fund members deserve thanks and praise for putting together and distributing money to the survivors of Nevadans killed in Iraq. Recently payments of $12,000 were made to the survivors of Marine Lance Cpl. Donald Cline, Marine Lt. Frederick Pokorney and Army Capt. Joshua Byers. The sister of Army Staff Sgt. Cameron Bryan Sarno was given a check for $6,000 because he didn't have a wife and family.

Pfc. Matthew A. Commons of Boulder City, posthumously promoted to corporal, was also single but left behind parents and grandparents. Commons, a Ranger, was killed in a fierce firefight in the mountains of Afghanistan when he went to the aid of a comrade. Because combat in Afghanistan and Iraq are related wars against terror we will probably be seeing an award made to Commons' survivors soon.

Why do we have to wait until a child is killed or some other tragedy happens before building crosswalks in housing areas? A four-lane road without a crosswalk or flashing signs within a reasonable distance is inviting death for a young person who trusts adult drivers.

As our cities and county continue to grow, are we expected to accept this march of death of innocent pedestrians? I don't think so.

The University of Nevada Reno becoming a member of the Mountain West Conference is a great idea. This move would be good for the conference and increase the field of competition in several sports.

When it comes to football and basketball, UNR can win its share of any games within this conference. If you don't believe it, then ask UNLV and the University of Washington.

A UNLV-UNR conference rivalry in Nevada would easily match the Utah-BYU athletic contests in our neighboring state.