South Range teen-agers should not have died

South Range teen-agers should not have died
EDITOR:
Parents and lawmakers should create a bill to prohibit under-18 drivers from having younger passengers in their cars. The two girls who died would be alive today if they hadn't been allowed in that car without an adult present.
I happen to drive a truck for a living, and the things I see today are nothing like they were 16 years ago when I got my license. The roads are too small and congested for the amount of traffic on them.
Kids don't usually think of the consequences and what happens when they make the wrong choice. I have six boys and God forbid anything like this happens.
You went after many politicians for corrupt stuff and over-billing. Why not address the problems of today's under-18 drivers and help save lives before it happens again.
GERALD YERKEY Jr.
Poland
Any new development should be tied to YSU
EDITOR:
Youngstown City Council may feel like putting all its arena eggs in one basket between the South and Market Street bridges, but I don't feel it will work and will prove too costly.
Let's look at the city's track record on the B & amp;O Station, Wick-Pollock and others. They couldn't keep Mill Creek Park, Lake Milton or the airport.
This tells us one thing: the arena should be a joint project built in the city with area involvement.
The biggest game in town is YSU football. It works.
The project should be built if not in, near, YSU. Take advantage of the parking areas, security and existing facilities: for example, YSU's steam heat plant was built in 1972 at a cost of $5.2 million, but they don't use it.
I suggest the area north of Beede Field's practice area. Possibly they could use the unused steam plant to heat it. Re-open Wick-Pollock. Why build new? They could build a bridge from the tailgate parking areas to the stadium and campus.
YSU should be the focal point for rebuilding Youngstown. Let's give it a try, and figure out how to make it work. Youngstown was built by make-it-work people. Let's do it again!
Let Y-town be Y-not!
F. GENE McCULLOUGH
Poland
Kids need a place to hang out and be with friends
EDITOR:
You often hear about teens being kicked out of parking lots, malls, parks, etc. So, what words come to mind when you hear about these incidents? Are teens really that bad? You might describe them as delinquents or trouble-makers. But really these teens are just looking for a place to hang out and have fun, not causing any trouble as thought by some residents of the cities around us.
Many of these teens are looking for a place to drive to, park, show off their cars, talk and share some ideas and meet new people. Not causing anyone harm. Yet we're being kicked out of parking lots at night. The stores are closed, and therefore we're not taking up any valuable parking spots or driving customers away. So why not set a time limit?
Many of these teens range in age from 16 to 19. Between the ages of 16 to 17 you cannot drive after midnight, so why not set a time limit from an hour after the stores close in the Boardman Plaza until 1:30?
We're not causing any harm, just looking for a place to hang out, be ourselves, show off our cars and meet new people. I have been at the Boardman Plaza a few times with my friends when the cops have shown up. They politely ask us to leave, but where are we to go? Many of us have pondered about that fact and could never really think of a place to go. So, what are we to do?
MIKE DEMART
Struthers
X The writer is a student at Struthers High School in the American history class of Ralph Sandy.