As much as I try to avoid the Tomah Journal blogs, it’s a bit like watching an accident …. You want to look away, you know that it’s awful, but yet you hope something good will happen. It doesn’t, and then you just feel bad. I often wonder if the blogs have a civic purpose; yet I don’t see any benefit from the negative rants and raves (especially done anonymously), nor do I find any progress for our community as a result of such posts.

Frankly, I read the posts and think that many of these people have not found the right youth activity, church involvement or other meaningful endeavor to give them satisfaction in life. However, there are two events coming up that can do just that -- give extreme satisfaction and meaning to life. For many years I have been involved with these events, and just three years ago it became quite personal. Anyone who has experienced cancer knows that the Tomah Area Cancer Support and the American Cancer Society Relay for Life meet needs for patients and families dealing with cancer.

Each group has a unique ability to serve patients and families in a way that the other organization cannot. Not only have I been able to contribute to the Tomah area events, but also do so in Mauston. The big difference: although Mauston is half the size of Tomah, their events are three times larger. Last year I knew six different teams at one Mauston event from the hospital alone -- not to mention the clinic, senior housing or nursing home. In Tomah there was not a single team from the hospital, any of the clinics or the VA Medical Center. In Mauston, the local cancer support group and the Relay benefit from donations from businesses and the medical community. In Tomah, many businesses make donations. However, not a thing from our medical community. I can imagine the ‘corporate’ excuses: “we do something at a larger, main-clinic level; we don’t want to choose between the organizations; we are cutting back and dealing with this in-house.”

I expect the businesses I deal with to be socially responsible. There is no excuse for not contributing to our community. And citizens need to be aware of which businesses support your school, your church, your activities of life! Those that are socially responsible deserve your business. I am a loyal customer to those businesses who support my community. I hope many of you are too. On May 16 the Tomah Area Cancer Support will have their trek and annual fundraising event. On June 13 and 14 the Relay for Life will meet in Tomah to raise funds and awareness. Our citizens and our businesses need not choose between the two events, they can easily do both. As busy as we all are, we can still do something in the way of donating or attending. Anything and everything you do is appreciated, noticed and well-utilized.

Melisa Thideman,

Tomah