Keep Cohasset Drive in park for nonvehicular traffic only
Keep Cohasset Drive in parkfor nonvehicular traffic only
EDITOR:
If you have never hiked, jogged, biked, cross-country skied or just sauntered along on Cohasset Drive in Mill Creek Park, you have not enjoyed one of the most scenic places in Mahoning County.
Right now it is under repair. The Federal Highway Commission granted money for much-needed repairs.
There is also a plan under way to open this road to vehicular traffic. It is a narrow road, built in the 19th century for the horse and buggy. There are many curves, blind spots and rises in the road, in addition to a sharp drop-off next to it. Even if it is open only to one-way traffic, no one on foot, bike or skis would be wise to use it. So who will benefit by this decision?
To compare it to the flat straight stretch on the South Side of town that is open to one-way traffic and rarely used by pedestrians is to compare a man-made environment with a pristine natural setting totally shaded by beautiful old trees.
Please write to: The Board of Park Commissioners, P.O. Box 596, Canfield, Ohio 44406
Cohasset Drive is one of the major assets of Mill Creek Park, and the park is one of the few assets of Youngstown that keep people of all ages here. Why ruin it?
REINETTE UYS
Youngstown
Hubbard pool levy is unfair to seniors who own homes
EDITOR:
I am writing this letter on behalf of myself and other Ohio homeowners who no longer are going to remain silent on the subject of real-estate taxes.
Senior citizens who have managed to save a little extra cash to invest in FDIC-insured certificates of deposit have seen their interest income reduced by two-thirds in the last three years. The annual cost of living increases in Social Security payments lag far behind the rate of inflation. Seniors have received increases of less than 2 percent, while state and federal government and school employees have received 3 percent or 4 percent increases.
On top of that, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled -- for the third time -- that putting any more of a burden on homeowners to support public schools, is absolutely unconstitutional!
Make no mistake about it, the 21/2-mill levy proposed by the board of education is not a pool levy. It is a new and additional school levy.
While I believe that the Hubbard pool is a magnificent resource we should all be proud of and support, it must be done in a different manner. I don't profess to be an expert in public finance, but I do know that senior citizens cannot be expected to pay more and more while their income is continuously reduced.
In conclusion, I will only say one thing to senior homeowners. You should be very worried.
JACK H. WILSON
Hubbard
Wearing a seat belt should be a matter of choice
EDITOR:
What justification is there to enact a seat-belt law for automobile drivers? They are virtually in a tube of steel, with an air bag for protection. Yet there are people riding a motorized two-wheeler without any protection whatsoever.
The reason to enact this law is very simple. It's a way for the slimes -- through the process of fining -- to get their hands in working peoples' pockets.
The theory that it will save peoples' lives is foolish. Accidents have happened since the beginning of time. What may be a fatal accident for the two-wheelers would probably be nothing more than a fender-bender to the automobile.
I'm 100 percent against the law. The pushing for this law is nothing more than a commercial. I'm all for the rights and freedom for the two-wheelers. It is their privilege to operate them. Let's make it a right and privilege for automobile drivers to decide if they want to use their seat belts.
ORLANDO D'ORAZIO
Youngstown