Lordstown citizens will get a chance to decide casino issue

Lordstown citizens will get a chance to decide casino issue
EDITOR:
We would like to extend our thanks to the Lordstown citizens who circulated the recently approved referendum petition regarding the casino agreement. Those of us who obtained signatures were impressed with the kind reception of our village neighbors. They were interested in the issue and thanked us for our involvement.
This referendum gives the voters an opportunity to participate in deciding the fate of the agreement made between the Village of Lordstown and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. Many of us who attended the council meetings to address our mayor and council members urged them to move slowly regarding the issue of a casino in our town and especially in the acceptance of this particular agreement. There are sections of the agreement that are vague and/or subject to legal interpretation that we feel could ultimately harm our community.
Section IV of the agreement speaks to the mitigation payments. First and foremost, it needs to be understood that mitigation monies are meant to compensate the negative impacts upon the resources and infrastructure of the village. The Lordstown agreement classifies the payments as mitigation money, subject to criteria not yet established. It might not be acceptable to use the mitigation money to pay for sewers on the east side of Lordstown or the roof repairs to the school buildings, unless agreed upon by the village and tribe in a separate agreement.
The mitigation money is managed and disbursed by an advisory committee. The mayor prides himself that this agreement includes a school representative on the committee. We appreciate his genuine concern for our school district; however, if you read the agreement it says, & quot;The voting composition of the Advisory Committee will include three (3) representatives appointed by the Village, one of which shall be a representative of the Village and the other two will include representatives of other local governmental entities directly impacted by the Project, i.e., The Trumbull County Commission and/or the Lordstown Board of Education, and one (1) representative of the Tribe. & quot;
This language does not guarantee that a school board representative will be included. Even if the school does have representation, each of the entities will be vying for the same dollars for his/her representative interest. There is no guarantee of a specific amount or percentage of money for the schools, unlike an agreement with the Menominee tribe in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
MICHELE KRISHER, ROBERT KRISHER and MARTIN JONES
Referendum Petition Committee
Lordstown
Fad diets not the way to go
EDITOR:
I am a 15-year-old freshman at Jackson-Milton High School. I am a cheerleader here, so fitness and health is something very important to me. I have researched diets and exercises to find a safe way to be healthy. But it has been drawn to my attention that "fad diets" such as the Atkins, South Beach, Beverly Hills or Hollywood diets (etc.) are not only unhealthy but also dangerous. I think that the potential health problems that come along with these diets should be made clearer by the producers. Also I do not think they should be billed as a panacea for weight loss.
Usually these diets promise the loss of weight to happen rapidly through an unhealthy and unbalanced diet. These diets are mostly targeted towards people who want to lose weight quickly without any exercise. Some of them restrict certain foods that are needed for a well-balanced diet. According to an article from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the weight loss is usually not permanent. The dieter often returns to their normal eating patterns after the weight is lost, which causes him or her to gain all the weight back. When on these diets you also have an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and osteoporosis.
Some people might make the argument that it worked for them or that they didn't get a chronic disease. But the facts are that it is very likely for you to have health problems if you do not have a well-balanced diet. A person on one of these diets might think that he or she is burning fat, but actually they are just losing their water weight.
I think that the media and stores should not promote these diets like they do. They are seen as a miracle-worker for people who do not want to exercise, but do want to lose weight, which is unhealthy and very dangerous. I believe that if these diets were seldom advertised then people would not hear of them and then not want to do them.
KATIE GONZALEZ
Austintown