Junk food doesn't belong in school vending machines

Junk food doesn't belong in school vending machines
EDITOR:
I am a 15-year-old freshman at Jackson-Milton High School who is becoming increasingly concerned about the controversy over the connection between childhood obesity and junk food being sold in school vending machines. I think that all schools should cut down on the amount of soda and greasy foods, such as chips ,and replace them with healthier alternatives, such as milk or juice and baked whole-grain chips instead.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teenagers are almost three times as likely to be overweight as they were 20 years ago. It's very easy to see why things are becoming this way because of the amount of junk food being sold in school. It's a well-known fact among nutritionists and scientists that sugar in soda and candy can contribute to obesity and diabetes over time, while phosphorous levels in soft drinks can offset the balance between it and calcium, hindering your body from growing strong, healthy bones. White flour and sugar used in crackers, cookies, and other snacks contains almost no nutritional value, and quickly raises blood sugar levels. I think that childhood obesity, diabetes, and other life-threatening diseases can be easily avoided simply by providing healthier foods and drinks; rather than having a Mountain Dew with Cheese Nachos for breakfast at school, students should have a choice between juice, milk or water and maybe a whole-wheat bagel. While the food industry states that students need more physical exercise, (which I agree with entirely), many students still don't participate enough in after-school sports or extra-curricular activities, and a required physical education class just doesn't seem to cut it. Your teenagers' futures are dependent on the years in which they grow the most, and the best thing we can do is to provide a healthier snack/drink program. I go to lunch with many kids who are overweight, and you could guess that they are the ones who purchase a bottle of Sprite and Nachos for their lunch every day.
Schools make money from these food/drink programs, but money can still be made through healthy alternatives. All parents should work together to help make our schools a healthier environment.
DYLAN KOLLAT
North Jackson
Law applies to everyone
EDITOR:
I am a sophomore student at Liberty High School. I just turned 16 and am able to drive. I have noticed that not only do young people speed, but the people enforcing the law do too: the police officials.
Before I started driving I'd seen police driving fast without their sirens on, just to get to a location fast. I have even asked other students in my class if they have seen police officials speeding, and most of them gave the answer "yes."
I do follow the laws, and I do know I could get fined if I speed. I understand that police are trying to cut down on speeders, but if they expect us to follow the speeding laws, then they have to also. I don't want the police to think they can do anything because they have the right to arrest us and are the law officials. If we have to follow the laws, they must.
DAVID GILLIAM
Youngstown
Good mailbox is hard to find
EDITOR:
I live in Youngstown, around the Shirley and Shady Run roads area. We have no mailbox around here to mail our out-going mail. We had a mailbox on the corner of Shady Run and Boston Avenue. We had a mailbox on Shirley Road by Detroit Avenue. And we also had a mailbox on Midlothian Boulevard at Zedaker. They took all these mailboxes away.
Now when we have to mail a letter, we have to drive up to Midlothian Boulevard and South Avenue. There is always a lot of traffic on this corner. I put a letter in my mailbox one time for the mail carrier to take. The wind blew it away. I found it two weeks later.
We have a lot of senior citizens living around this area. How are they going to mail their letters? Some people do not have a car to drive. It would be nice to have a mailbox around here to mail our letters.
LULU ANN BERNARDICH
Youngstown