State Senator Toni Boucher (R-26) attended
the Labor Day working weekend event held by
the National Foundation for Women Legislators
in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Expenses paid for
by Senator Boucher with the help of a scholarship
from the Foundation.)
Following is Senator Boucher’s report
of the event.
“The National Foundation For Women Legislators
(NFWL) convened a Labor Day working weekend.
The timing is fitting because, after all, a
woman's labor is never done. It also provided
a momentary change of focus from unrelenting
budget deficits. Women legislators from around
the country discussed a multitude of issues,
including healthcare innovation and best practices:
health and substance abuse services for returning
military; education; transportation and high
speed rail; alternatives to bankruptcy; broadband
and internet access; and dating violence.
There was a remarkable demonstration of various,
not commonly known, uses for hyperbaric chambers,
such as treating traumatic brain injury, stroke,
Alzheimer's and autism. Furthermore, the use
of hyperbaric chambers have been shown to dramatically
improve the ill effects of diabetes when circulation
is compromised by returning blood flow to the
limbs, thereby reducing the need for amputation
by as much as 70%. In addition, many military
personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan
are experiencing great relief from treatments
using hyperbaric chambers that previously were
reserved for only treating decompression sickness,
or the bends, sometimes experienced by divers.
While discussing military health issues, we
were joined by a group of elderly Navajo Indians,
veterans who were once known as the "Code
Talkers". The enemy never broke their codes
while they used their native language to save
countless lives, primarily in the Pacific Theater
during World War II.
However, the most dramatic moment came when
David Mitchell recounted the brutal murder of
his 21-year old sister, Kristin, by an obsessed
boyfriend. Mr. Mitchell described how his kind
and loving sister was brutally stabbed 55 times
by someone close to her who had had no prior
history of violence, but who had exhibited possessive,
controlling and abusive behavior prior to the
murder. Lindsay Anne Burke's parents from Connecticut
and Rhode Island were also in attendance and
told their heartbreaking story of her murder
by a boyfriend just as she was tying to break
free. Being so young, inexperienced, compassionate,
trusting, and naïve, these young girls
became the perfect victims for their abusers.
These were clear and compelling examples of
why the issue of relationship violence must
be addressed by parents, and by middle and high
school health curriculums.
Also, the Federal Reserve Board was on hand
to offer helpful information, such as their
five tips for protecting your home from foreclosures.
More is available by accessing
www.federalreserve.gov/consumerinfo.
If you would like to speak with me regarding
any of theses topics, or you have other questions
or concerns, please feel free to contact me
at my legislative office in Hartford at 1-800-842-1421,
or via e-mail Toni.Boucher@cga.ct.gov.”
Senate Republican Office press contract for
Senator Boucher is Catherine Sarault –
catherine.sarault@cga.ct.gov,
or 860-240-8818.
