Set a speed trap, and you won't catch many shoppers

Set a speed trap, and you won't catch many shoppers
EDITOR:
I had to chuckle to myself when I read the Feb. 14 article & quot;Right turn, Wrong lane. & quot; Poland has managed once again to find a money making scheme to get more money for the village by collecting it in traffic citations.
The intersection of 616 and 224 is a much travelled intersection. There are two lights on 616, which to most people would mean two lanes. They put a sign almost a block away saying Single Lane, No Passing. Most people would assume it's a single lane until you get to the intersection which is wide enough for two lanes and seeing the two lights would only add to their assumption that it is two lanes. I, myself have witnessed numerous people making turns from the right hand lane. It makes for a better flow of an already crowded intersection. Perhaps, Poland should consider making it a two lane intersection like their neighbor Boardman did to most of their streets after they widened South Avenue. It is wide enough to do so. It only makes sense to keep the flow of traffic running as smoothly as possible.
Another money making scheme that Poland has is on 224 where the speed limit goes from 25 miles an hour to 40 miles an hour. Do you know how hard it is to pull out of that Post Office when you are watching traffic on one side speed up to the 40 mile speed and the other side slowing down to the 25 mile speed? Once again, they should copy Boardman and have a set speed limit at 40 miles per hour. Perhaps they wouldn't need to depend on traffic citations as their revenue. People would frequent their businesses more if they weren't in fear of these & quot;traps. & quot;
Ever since I started to drive, I've always heard about the & quot;Poland speed trap. & quot; Now reading about this 616 intersection, it only reinforces it. Poland officials, wake up, take a lesson from Boardman, and welcome people into your city, not scare them off!
JANICE M. SCHULTZ
Boardman
Americans can't compete with people willing to kill themselves for a day's pay
EDITOR
After winning a primary recently, Sen. John Kerry stated that "American workers are the best in the world and can compete with anyone." Fine words, but are they true? I've seen how workers from some other countries work in the shipyards as a laborer, and in the fields picking fruit. I found out that the farmers will hire the Mexicans first if they can get them. It was the same thing in the shipyards. No matter how hard you try, you can't compete with someone who will accept any health risk or physical hardship or low wage. They are literally killing themselves in the hope of helping their families improve the most dismal situations.
Asserting that "Americans are the best in the world" is a little bit like standing up in a bar and yelling "I can lick any guy in here!" Except for one thing. What you're actually saying is, "I can beat myself up worse than anybody in here. Heck I'll even beat myself to death." Because that's what it's really all about in today's job market. No more decent wages, no more 40 hour weeks with overtime, no more pension funds, no more health and safety regulations.
And it doesn't do any good to have the latest technology either. Manufacturers are quite happy to send their best and newest technology to China and India. Because of NAFTA and other trade agreements and the flood of outsourcing, these union-fought and hard-won benefits are about to vanish into thin air. For many of us they have already vanished. So it doesn't do any good to brag how great we are. The only thing to do is to repeal NAFTA and WTO and establish a new policy of fair trade. Fair trade not just for Americans, but for other nations where people suffer even more from these unjust agreements than we do.
ROGER LAFONTAINE
Youngstown