Residents need to be heard about septage concerns

Residents need to be heardabout septage concerns
EDITOR:
Recently our community of North Jackson had two meetings addressing the dumping of raw sewage on a 67-acre site. Large crowds have voiced their displeasure and concerns about well contamination and the polluting of Meander Reservoir and other health and environmental concerns. There are feeder streams very close to this site. Morrison Run is a major tributary into the largest drinking supply in the two-county area.
Last spring, Lipkey Road flooded, eroding driveways and the road, which was closed several days. This road runs along Meander Reservoir. These feeder creeks all run the same course to Meander.
Raw sewage is pumped directly from septic tanks and would be put directly on this land. Raw sewage is what you flush down the toilet. Would you put this on your yard?
There are always concerns about septic tanks' being in good working order, and they want to dump raw sewage on land about a half mile away from your water supply! Try to figure that out. This was approved by the Mahoning County Health Department. Did they even think about the location?
Raw sewage can be treated at a waste treatment plant and made safe, but there is a cost to the septic tank pumper. Approximately 3 cents a gallon. Can we put a dollar cost on the impact to our health and our environment?
Congressman Ryan and Strickland sent representatives to our last meeting and are greatly concerned about this problem. Our local trustees and county commissioners are also involved and have pledged their support. But your voices must be heard loud and clear.
I am appealing to all residents of Mahoning and Trumbull counties to join the fight to protect and preserve our water supply and the health of our communities.
Call your local representatives and voice your concerns. It is your water and your health that are in danger. Not to mention the wildlife that will come into contact with this raw waste.
OLIN E. HARKLEROAD
North Jackson
XThe writer is president of the Jackson Township Citizens' Association.
Deception turned freedomand choice into bad words
EDITOR:
In the eyes of pro-life believers, there are virtually hundreds of enlightenments depicting the wrongfulness of abortions. They need to be brought to light.
There is a flickering of light in the fact that a fetus is a developing human being within the womb of a pregnant woman. This is indisputable and without question.
There is also a flickering in the fact that 90 percent of civilized people believe in God. Of this 90 percent, 99 percent believe that those developing in the wombs of pregnant women are God's creations. This is also indisputable and without question.
We possess the ability to reason, the ability to conclude and the mentality for understanding. With all this ability, how was it possible to acquire the perception that terminating the life of a developing human being is moral conduct?
To say that this was accomplished by deceptive reasoning makes for good reasoning. Analyze the following paragraph, and perhaps the truth will be recognized.
There were two flowering words chosen to accomplish this perception. They are freedom and choice. Since Americans possess an innate desire for freedom, the brain automatically accepted this word as favorable. Then you add choice. Put together it becomes "freedom of choice." Many people accepted freedom of choice at face value, and they excluded the follow-up meaning, which was whether to terminate the life of a developing human being. Prior to the present perception, an abortion was a criminal act.
This method was used to accomplish the brainwashing of freedom-loving Americans into believing that terminating the lives of developing unborn human beings was a moral behavior.
The truth is, abortions are immoral.
STEPHEN P. ZDURIENICK and BERNICE CWYNAR ZDURIENICK
New Castle, Pa.
The burning issue today isthe future of Social Security
EDITOR:
While watching the nightly news, some of the talk was about the "burning issues" of the day. Condoleezza Rice will testify about 9/11! How about the fact that we baby boomers will not get as much Social Security as we were promised? This is a burning issue to me!
The issue that has to be addressed is the elimination of the cap on Social Security taxes.
As it stands now, Social Security taxes stop after a person earns $80,000.
Let's take one example: Shaquille O'Neal makes $950,000 per game! In the first game he plays, he only pays Social Security taxes on $80,000 of that and pays nothing the rest of the year! What about CEOs?
Write your congressmen or your presidential candidate of choice.
This is the "burning issue." Social Security can be saved. It might even be increased.
NOLAN SAUKKO
Leavittsburg
Taking action in Fallujah
EDITOR:
As a former combat Marine, I am cognizant of war, killing and death. An article in The Vindicator on March 31 detailed the assassination, dismemberment, dragging, hanging and mutilation of four civilian workers in Fallujah, Iraq.
One of the killers stated, "Fallujah is the cemetery for Americans." Fallujah is also the birthplace and home of cowards. Hopefully from the videotapes we will be able to identify at least 40 of these scum bags (Marine Corps equation -- 10 of the enemy for every one of ours). After IDs are made, we hunt them down and put bullets in their heads.
RICK BERGER
Boardman
Mutilation in Fallujah sealsresolve to vote out Bush
EDITOR:
The horrific images that appeared on my computer screen Wednesday morning have hardened my resolve that President Bush must not be given another four years to ruin this country. The bodies being mutilated in the streets of Fallujah are a direct result of this president's sending this country into a war based on deception.
I will not pretend to know the pressures placed upon a sitting president during a tragedy like Sept. 11 to avenge those thousands of precious lives lost, but we are still waiting for proof that Saddam was even remotely related to that tragedy. Put aside the declining state of our environment, the loss of millions of jobs, the fact that every morning the news greets us with more loss of life (American and foreign). This president put our soldiers in harm's way for not one justifiable reason. (Please don't say it is because Saddam was a horrible dictator. How many countries are suffering in the grips of a government that doesn't care about them, and we have not intervened on their behalf?) For this reason alone, he has lost the privilege to attempt to lead this country a moment longer. For those of you who are tired of the state of this country, please vote.
Complaining and debating among co-workers and friends is not enough. Vote and show the world that has started to hate us just for being citizens of this great nation, that we will not stand for a president who does not stand for us.
ANGELA M. GUZMAN
Campbell