Casinos would be better bet if Ohio is open to gambling

Casinos would be better bet if Ohio is open to gambling
EDITOR:
In 2005, Jane Campbell, then mayor of Cleveland headed up an initiative to get casino gambling approved in Ohio. Had she acquired 450,000 signatures in 44 of our 88 Ohio counties, a referendum would have appeared on the November 2005 state wide ballot that would have allowed full scale, Las Vegas style casino development in Ohio cities with a population of 50,000 or more, with a vote by the people of that city. This would have included Youngstown.
Passage of the referendum by Ohio voters would have also allowed casino gambling at places of amusement in Ohio that had an attendance of 1,000,000 or more each year.
Attorney General Jim Petro dragged his feet long enough in approving the referendum language to make it almost impossible to acquire the necessary number of signatures before the early August 2005 referendum deadline.
Campbell postponed the casino referendum initiative until 2006, however, she was defeated in her 2005 Cleveland mayor re-election bid and the referendum initiative she headed was canceled.
The seven Ohio horse race tracks enticed Jeff Jacobs, son of a former Cleveland Indians owner, to join them in putting together a referendum initiative that would allow slot machines at the tracks. Passage of this referendum would also allow two slot machine parlors in Cleveland, which Jacobs would own and operate, and two parlors in Cincinnati.
This initiative does not come anywhere close to the effectiveness and total benefits that having as many as 15 casinos in major Ohio cities and amusement centers would have.
Fifteen full-scale Las Vegas style casinos in Ohio would generated more than $4 billion for the state, its cities and counties and would create as many as 70,000 good-paying jobs.
Slot machines at race tracks will generate much, much less revenue for Ohio and considerably fewer jobs. Especially good-paying jobs.
If we're going to have legal gambling in Ohio, let's do it right. Let the state legislators pass special legislation to make class three casino gambling legal in Ohio. Then let the people of these Ohio cities of 50,000 or more vote on whether to allow a casino in their town. And let the race tracks have their slot machines, too.
PATRICK MACKONDY
Beaver Township
Why Ellsworth as site of home for troubled boys?
EDITOR:
Works are in the process for "Redemption House" to come to Ellsworth. One might ask, what is Redemption House? According to their brochure, it is a place for severe behavior problem males age 13-18. So, why Ellsworth? There are a few problems as we see it.
1) The neighborhood they selected is zoned R1 -- that's residential, owner occupied. The new owners will not be in the house. Counselors and the security guard will be there with four to 20 of these behavior-problem boys.
2) The house is a three bedroom, two bath home with a septic system and well. We cannot fathom how the septic will work with 20 people in the house.
3) There is basically no police coverage of Ellsworth. The county sheriff substation was closed some time ago.
4) The Western Reserve school system has about 800 students. They are not in any way staffed to handle these types of behavior problems. It will likely cost the local school district money.
5) Most of the people who live out here live here in order to get away from these kind of problems. We thought with zoning and septic systems, we were safe from this.
6) The Redemption House reportedly will receive state and/or federal money. The house in question was listed at $280,000. Is $280,000 for a three-bedroom home on 2.5 acres with a septic system really a good use of tax dollars?
7) We all found out about this by word of mouth. No one was notified in advance.
This all begs the question, why would they pick Ellsworth? The purported reason was the "peaceful rural atmosphere." Well, Canfield has some peaceful rural areas, with sewer and water. The "owners" or "founders" or whatever live in Canfield. They could check on their philanthropic project so much easier in Canfield, couldn't they?
Our belief is they could never get it in Canfield. So, lets try and slip one past the "hicks" out in the country.
Well, the hicks are all aware and being informed by the minute. Home values will go down, taxes will go up, and the community and the schools will be changed. But not without a fight.
JOHN BATES
Ellsworth
People flock to U.S. because their countries failed them
EDITOR:
All of those immigrant demonstrations shown live on TV bring one word to mind: Shame.
Shame on those countries of origin, which these people had to leave to endure the expenses and hardships of making their way to America.
It seems to me that these demonstrations should have been directed at the embassies of the countries of origin for these people. These countries were responsible for their troubles.
Mexico, for one, is not a poor country. Mexico is rich in natural resources -- oil, gas, gold, silver, lead and copper mines. They have vast acres of fertile soil and their tourist industry ranks right up their with the best of them. It is their corrupt and greedy government leaders who have kept their people in poverty and squalor.
These live demonstrations on TV are beamed to the entire world and it should be obvious to all what a great nation the United States is in allowing all these people to express their hopes and desires to become citizens.
Whatever decision our governmental leaders come to, one thing they should keep foremost in mind is the protection and preservation of our country and way of life. Our borders must be tightened up and made safe, especially for those whose properties are adjacent to the border.
Whatever our sympathies with regard to the immigration problem, we should be united in condemning those countries that permitted, in some cases abetted, this situation to occur.
PAUL SLOVAN
Boardman
What's the 'S' stand for?
EDITOR:
What does YSU stand for?
1) Youngstown Sweet University?
2) Youngstown Shipka University?
Both sides should get together and serve the other "S," the students, not themselves.
F. GENE McCULLOUGH
Poland