Merry Christmas to all

Merry Christmas to all
EDITOR:
Let me start by saying "merry Christmas" to everyone. Even those who do not believe.
To say "merry Christmas" is to bless the person you are saying it to. It is a greeting used to signify the love of God for all His people. Even if you do not believe in Jesus, He still believes in you and loves you passionately.
The reason for this letter is to set the story straight. I know that many have been upset by the notion that retail store workers and the Salvation Army volunteers have been prohibited from saying "merry Christmas." I personally contacted Wal-Mart and they answered the phone with "merry Christmas, Wal-Mart's." Target said "We have encouraged our workers to be themselves and to say whatever they feel comfortable saying." The Salvation Army said, "We go out of our way to say "merry Christmas" and we have not been told we can not say it."
So, everybody say, merry Christmas. To those who are offended by these words, it is not our intention to offend you, but bless you. Please stop trying to take Christmas out of our culture. Dennis Mangan 12/20/05 For those of us who believe, they can try and take Jesus out of the stores and the schools, but they can never take Him out of our hearts!!! Please do not be offended by those who simple do not know Him like we do. Love them like Jesus would!!!
Merry Christmas and happy holidays.
Joy Chickonoski
Struthers
Lunch, it's a good thing
EDITOR:
This letter is written on behalf of the Trumbull County Coordinated School Health Coalition to support Dr. Kathryn Hellweg, superintendent of Warren City School District, and her staff, who are planning to re-open the Harding High School cafeteria.
We know there has been some vocal opposition to the plan, but the data that supports the link between nutrition and academic performance should outweigh all other concerns. For example, hungry students have a reduction in both reflective and analytic ability. Hunger is linked to poor educational outcomes, poor educational behaviors and poor attitude. It influences attention span, short-term memory, emotional affect and social functioning. Finally, hungry adolescents are more likely to have received psychological care, more likely to have been suspended from school and have increased difficulty getting along with others.
We applaud those at Harding High School for their hard work in bringing back a good thing. There will be difficulties, but it is for the overall good of the students.
Mel Milliron
Trumbull County Health Department
Warren
Nichol Campana
American Cancer Society
Canfield
High cost of justice delayed
EDITOR:
Why did it take 25 years to execute a killer in California and why is Danny Hill still alive 20 years after killing a little 12-year-old boy? His mother never had a chance to raise him and perhaps have the joy of grandchildren.
No wonder we have so many murders in the United States. We waste millions of taxpayer dollars paying for the defense and appeals of sentences. These criminals get free housing, food, clothing, medical, dental, and eye care, while the victims, usually devastated, get nothing and are forgotten.
The public defenders make a good living defending these criminals, while the overburdened prosecutors office can do little or nothing to help the victims. The system that has evolved is pro-criminal.
The message on the street is the criminal has the upper hand, supported by the criminal justice system.
Who says "crime doesn't pay?"
GEORGE R. HOLKO Sr.
Warren