What is safety worth?

What is safety worth?
EDITOR:
Should the 0.5 percent income tax needed for the safety forces fail to pass, Youngstown residents will have to find other methods to protect their safety.
With fewer firefighters on duty anyone with the misfortune to have a fire had better pray for a very heavy rainstorm, because there won't be enough firefighters to answer the calls.
As for a shortage of police officers, criminals will have themselves a "festival of crime." As it is, some unfortunate people risked their safety by going to work, church, shopping, school, and even on their own property.
I strongly believe that human necessities such as safety, shelter, food, medical care and education are needed for human survival, and should not be a matter for debate.
No one enjoys paying taxes but when people benefit from them their worth is proven.
Money spent to safeguard human life is a bargain at any price.
MARY LOU JURINA
Youngstown
Count the reasons forvoting against Issue 1
EDITOR:
On behalf of the Mahoning County Bar Association, I am writing to urge citizens to vote "no" on State Issue I, a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution which would change current drug sentencing laws for the worse. Although at first blush the amendment sounds attractive, a closer examination of Issue I raises several serious concerns.
Consider this: The proposed amendment is over 6,500 words in length and would double the size of the Ohio Constitution. Issue I would require the appropriation of $247 million over seven fiscal years to pay for drug treatment programs. The state legislature cannot change this amount, regardless of economic concerns or important funding issues such as the education of Ohio's children. Unlike laws passed by the state legislature, which can be amended or corrected, Issue I can only be changed by a statewide vote.
Next, the proposed amendment limits the discretion of judges in sentencing drug offenders. Current sentencing laws allow a maximum of 12-18 months for lower degree felonies, including drug offenses. However, with the passage of Issue I, the maximum sentence a judge can effectively impose is 90 days. Further, the proposed amendment would interfere with the judge's ability to oversee an offender's treatment program, and eliminate the judge's ability to impose an immediate jail sentence if a person is not complying with the program.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to vote against Issue I is the potentially negative impact its passage would have upon drug courts throughout Ohio, including the Mahoning County Drug Courts. As president of the Mahoning County Bar Association, it has been my privilege to attend drug court graduation ceremonies. The success of this program is based on the ability of the judge to interact with the offender and his treatment team. Issue I prevents the judge from obtaining confidential information shared by offenders with their counselors. Thus, the judge will not be made aware of offenders who are struggling to follow the requirements of their treatment program. As such, the possibility exists that offenders could graduate from drug court and have their record expunged, without meeting their treatment requirements.
Accordingly, the Mahoning County Bar Association joins with other legal and drug treatment associations in opposing the passage of State Issue 1. Please vote "no" Tuesday on Issue 1.
KATHI McNABB WELSH
Youngstown
X The writer is president of the Mahoning County Bar Association
Pre-election questions
EDITOR:
We are again approaching election day and the politicians of both major parties continue to propose new entitlements.
I have two questions that need to be answered: First, how will these programs be funded? Second, how does a society that votes for ever-increasing entitlements remain strong and prosperous?
The second question is most important, since no country has ever been able to survive and remain free with an ever expanding government.
JIM McCLOSKEY
Boardman