Support Goshen police

Support Goshen police
EDITOR:
I am very concerned about a few people wanting to cut back our Goshen Township police department. We are facing higher unemployment in the area, which also increases our crime rate. Downsizing our department will drastically hurt our residents by not having at least two units on the road at all times.
The residents of Goshen Township aren't paying anymore for police protection today than they were back in the early 1990s when the department was a lot smaller, using old worn out OSP cruisers and with very little training. By stopping the crime in Green Township it is like building a fire wall to keep crime out of Goshen Township and helps keep us financially sound. By being in Beloit it gives us the chance to have a school resource officer for our children.
Also, please come to our meetings on the second and forth Mondays at 7 p.m. of each month to get the facts and answers to your questions, financial or otherwise, or call one of your trustees or clerk. Don't be mislead by all of the rumors.
ROBERT McCRACKEN
Trustee chairman
Lordstown does its best
EDITOR:
Two levies go up for renewal Tuesday, and it's up to the Lordstown community to make these renewals happen. The key word here is renewal: no new money will be asked for. The community will still be paying what they have been paying the last five years. Twenty-seven percent of the current revenue is covered by these levies, and if the levies don't pass Lordstown schools would be trying to make budgets work with only 73 percent of their current revenue.
Lordstown schools have shown in the past that they know how to provide a sound education for their children. During the state fiscal emergency, Lordstown had to make a lot of cuts. They cut expenditures by 32 percent and the staff costs by 35 percent, saving about $4 million from 2001 to 2004. Even with these cuts, high school students met the state standard on all the sections of the OGT, and the elementary students met the standard on 12 of 13 tests in 2005. In fact, 17 of 21 state tests had a performance index score of 90 or higher.
It will be a shame if they don't pass, because Lordstown schools have worked so hard to achieve the financial stability they are in now.
LEE DAVIS
Senior, Lordstown High School
Invest in Jackson-Milton
EDITOR:
It is very important for the residents in Jackson and Milton townships to understand the facts about our upcoming election and the impact it will have. Your vote Tuesday is a critical one for our schools and our communities. Voting for the Jackson-Milton bond issue to build a new middle/high school next to the elementary school will guarantee the addition of a new regional library by the Youngstown and Mahoning County Public Library Board. All JM students and area residents will be able to utilize this valuable resource on a daily basis. Such school-business-community partnerships create a win-win situation for all involved. Our campus will become the hub for community activities.
Statistics show that quality schools are essential to a community's long-term development potential. Schools have become one of the top factors in home buying decisions, more important than proximity to work and family, transportation, child care, parks, shopping and recreational opportunities. As a result, the better the schools, the higher the property values in the surrounding area. Your property values increase at a far greater rate than any tax increase. Please consider the importance of this issue for both our students and our communities. This is an opportunity of a lifetime that may not come our way again.
Please vote for the Jackson-Milton bond issue.
SUSAN KARASH
Lake Milton