Research = time on hold

Monday marked the debut of a column -- "Fact or fiction?" -- on Page 2A welcoming questions of about any kind from Southeast Missourian readers. Feedback is already coming in positive, although I think the interest is more about the concept than the first installment.

One person I talked to described the column as a fact checker for Speak Out. Another was disappointed that, like Speak Out, there were no names attached to those asking the questions. But he liked the column for helping to get accurate information into public discussion.

Frankly, if you send in a question and want your name attached to it, we'll do it. Please be sure to include telephone number and address so we can verify that it's really you. Send your questions to factorfiction@semissourian.com or call Speak Out (334-5111) and refer to the column's name.

At the rate questions are coming in, there won't be any lack of material. And local sources have been quick to help answer queries. (I already have the next two installments pretty well in place thanks to straight-forward questions concerning snow removal costs, Cape Girardeau mayor Jay Knudtson and air conditioning at Central High School.)

But tracking down answers to some of the spongier questions, especially on the state and national level, will be more challenging.

For those who didn't see Monday's newspaper, two of the questions dealt with President Bush's activities on Sept. 11, 2001. I won't repeat the topics here. Instead, let me share with you a bit of the process for tracking down the responses.

First, I called the White House, which referred me to the Office of Homeland Security. From there I was bounced between several offices before being sent back to the White House, which shuttled my call between the press office and the office of media affairs and back again -- twice. Finally, I was connected with a spokesperson for the National Security Council who not only was courteous (they all were) but helpful. He answered several of the questions (two that were cut for lack of space this week but will appear in a later column).

While the folks in Washington, D.C., were playing pingpong with my telephone calls over several days, I tracked down the information online from various research sites to be prepared just in case no one at the White House would actually talk to me on the record, as well as to have further context and corroboration. In the end, my research time online about equaled my time on hold. You just gotta love government: accessible but not always efficient.

---

In other news, congratulations to Southeast Missouri Hospital for another excellent annual dinner. This event is a favorite of mine for its celebration of employees and those who spearhead progress in local medical care. The decorations were excellent, and the video was informative. This year's emcee was board of trustees president Narvol Randol, Jr., who kept the proceedings moving quickly.

One of the historical features in the video was an interview with Anne Limbaugh about the hospital's Meals on Wheels program. Limbaugh recalled how the planning for the program several decades ago came down to simply starting it and figuring the rest of the issues out along the way. I didn't take notes of what she said, but one of the messages was: Sometimes you just need to do something. Stop talking. And do it.

Pretty good advice for a lot of us.

Congratulations, too, to those receiving special service awards for helping to advance the quality of health services for the community: The Zimmer Radio Group, Ford Groves, Dr. Joseph Tygett, and Margaret Roberts, who was honored posthumously. More than 800 people attended the annual event, and much pride for what the hospital has achieved was in the air.

Jon K. Rust is co-president of Rust Communications.