Compromise or sell-out?

Compromise or sell-out?
EDITOR:
Am I alone in believing that the American people have been "sold out" by the so-called "compromise" achieved by the Senate over the filibuster?
Sure, the Senate deal ended the possibility of any immediate threat to the filibuster, but it threw the door wide open to a simple-minded "up or down" vote on two of the most extreme opponents of separation of church and state -- Janice Rogers Brown and former Alabama Attorney General William Pryor. Both have consistently taken positions far outside the judicial mainstream on First Amendment rights, privacy rights, civil liberties, labor and environmental laws.
What kind of a deal do you call this, the Neville Chamberlain deal?
AL BLAZO
Youngstown
More said 'yes' to new school, but not enough
EDITOR:
Recently, Jackson-Milton schools had an important school issue on the ballot: the issue of building a new school. Sadly, once again the levy failed. I am glad to say that there were a lot more "yes" voters this year, but, unfortunately more (by a slim margin) didn't vote in the favor of the new school. I think people in our community should start considering why voting "yes" for our school levy would benefit everyone.
When I realized that our school levy had failed, I felt so disappointed. I thought this time was going to be different, and we would have a new school. I went to school the next day, seeing the staff and students depressed, upset, and devastated. Everyone at Jackson-Milton is not asking for anything special; we just want a safe school. A school where you could actually walk through the halls and not trip over the broken tile in the floors, or run into a trash can that is there because of the leaky roofs, or not have holes in the ceiling, and, for once, have lockers that are accessible to us. Our school is 91 years old; if that isn't a good enough reason for a new school, what is?
I know many people are voting "no" because of the money issue. Yes, your taxes would increase, but in the long run don't you think it would pay off? A new school would bring more people to the area, kids would actually be safe and would want to go to school, and I think people would actually start caring about what is happening in our community. Our pride would increase greatly if we had a new school to attend.
I am so tired of hearing people doubt our school, our students, and our community. It's embarrassing to me personally when people from other schools come and see what our school looks like. There are not too many schools in Ohio with the situation we have here at Jackson-Milton. Many of the other schools have passed their levies and have their new school. Some of the schools with their levies passing aren't as old or nearly as bad as Jackson-Milton. I have a three-year-old brother, and I would like him to attend Jackson-Milton High School and experience the fun I have had with friends and teachers, and I know that if this levy doesn't pass in August, the school will never last. Please support our schools by voting "yes" on our next levy.
TERA BENEDICT
Lake Milton
Missing the bigger picture
EDITOR:
After two years serving on the "New Image Youngstown 2010" working group, I and other members received a letter from Anthony Kobak, chief planner, Youngstown Planning Department, that we were no longer needed and that this challenge would best be undertaken by professionals experienced in dealing with the intricacies of a national marketing strategy and implementation.
It seems Youngstown wants to go it alone. The summary report of Sept. 12, 2002, sponsored by the city of Youngstown and Youngstown State University stated, "There is a growing sense of regional cooperation in the Mahoning Valley." This project should be called "Mahoning Valley 2010." We need to develop a regional identity with new and fair incentives to promote cooperation.
Before going to the professionals, let's try to get it right for the region, not just the city.
F. GENE McCULLOUGH
Poland