Driver in fatal accident lives his punishment every day

Driver in fatal accident lives his punishment every day
EDITOR:
I read with disdain your opinion last Sunday about the horrific accident of March 27 in which three teenagers died. My daughter is a student at Cardinal Mooney and a friend of the deceased. As a mother of two teenagers, I can assure you that Christiaen Lively did not wake up on the morning of March 27 and say, "I think I will drive recklessly and be in a fatal wreck tonight!"
Webster defines accident as always an unforeseen or unintentional happening; a mishap causing injury, damage, or loss.
Teens think they are invincible and that everything happens to someone else, not to them. To send a teen to jail for six months or 10 years is not going to be punishment worse than what Christiaen is already living. Every day he lives knowing his very best friends died in that crash. No punishment any court can issue will ever be worse than that! Hasn't he been through enough? These kids were not troublemakers, drinking or on drugs. They were acting like teenagers; unfortunately this time the worst happened to them.
I continue to pray for all their families and that all teens will see that accidents can happen in an instant and their whole lives can change. But it WILL happen again, because there is still that teen out there who is saying, "Yeah, it happened to them, but it won't happen to me."
MARIE MOROCCO
North Lima
Human services workersgo beyond the call of duty
EDITOR:
In an article about the Columbiana County Human Services Department in last Sunday's Vindicator, you claimed employees of that department get "perks" for doing "nothing more than their jobs." You neglected to mention that staffers have been sprucing up the county's "rambling, run-down building" on their own time with their own money.
In fact, on Saturday, the day before your article was published, agency employees, on their day off and at their own expense, were painting the office. They weren't asked to do that They will not be compensated for doing that. They were not merely doing their jobs.
In digging for the story you wanted, you overlooked the contribution these workers make beyond their jobs. When you dig, journalistic fairness requires you not to ignore the flowers on your way to the dirt.
MICHAEL BROOKS
East Liverpool