The Real CASA

When most in the tri-county area hear the acronym CASA, they immediately think of "Court Appointed Special Advocates." This incarnation of CASA, having been introduced to the Shoals area by Judge Larry Mack Smith, is a much needed organization and well deserving in the praise it routinely receives.

However, there is another CASA, one that is not as widely known in this area. We hope to change that. If one says CASA to a citizen of Madison County or one of its adjoining communities, he or she immediately thinks of "Care Assurance System for the Ageing."

Supported by the United Way and partially administered by the Red Cross, when CASA was first instituted it became an immediate success and soon added the home bound to its list of recipients. Anyone over the age of 60 or unable to leave home except for worship services and routine medical appointments qualifies for the services of CASA.

Perhaps CASA's best known endeavor is the retrofitting of homes with bathroom grab bars and wheelchair ramps at entrance ways. While this is the organization's main focus, they also provide fresh garden vegetables for those who request them, as well as assisting the Red Cross in the distribution of disaster kits.

Certainly the local chapters of the United Way have many requests for assistance each year, all of them worthy. I would suggest that with the aging of the Shoals area, CASA may prove the most worthy of all.

What's up with this: Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly is said to want a 10 year sentence for convicted "instigator" Rosie Ingram. Too bad he didn't try rapist/murderer Shaun Shapley for the same crime.