Different levels of justice in fatal hit-and-run cases

Different levels of justicein fatal hit-and-run cases
EDITOR:
As I read the paper about the Warren man who hit Annie Lee, I felt anger to no end.
I am the aunt of Jennifer Tornello who was hit by a car on Meadowbrook Avenue in Boardman while walking home from her boyfriend's house Jan. 6, 1996. She was hit and left for dead. Her parents had to remove their daughter from life support and bury her at just 15 years old. She was beautiful, vibrant, very popular at her high school and was actively pursuing a modeling career. All gone at just 15.
The man who hit her fled the scene but left one piece of evidence. The side mirror to his car. That's how hard he hit her. The Boardman police arrested him after he tried to make an insurance claim. His statement was that he thought he hit a trash can. We suspected he was drunk but they couldn't prove it. His sentence was 6 months each for vehicular homicide and leaving the scene. He lost his license for life. Not for tampering with evidence, even though he tried to remove her blood from the windshield of his car with root beer soda. We were told one year was the maximum penalty.
My sister buried her daughter in Boardman cemetery. She loved how small it was and close to home, she said, so she could visit often. She did visit often -- every day almost. So much that the groundskeeper installed a bench right near the grave for her. The loss of her child devastated my sister (Mary McCutcheon) so much that she died all alone in her daughter's bed in July 2000 from a heart attack. Didn't smoke, seldom drank and only 48 years old. We believe it was from a broken heart. She is responsible for more lights and sidewalks in Boardman.
All she wanted from this man who died in 2002 is an apology, which she never got. We do know that he still drove his car.
My question is: Are the laws that different from county to county, or is it just who you know or who your lawyer is? Or may be how much money you have.
DEBBIE McCUTCHEON
Youngstown
The people have spoken; don't ask the same question
EDITOR:
On Nov. 8, a poll was taken of the voters regarding whether or not they wished to pay for a levy for the Youngstown city schools. The result showed that 9,260 of those wished to support such a tax, while 11,500 did not wish to enact such a tax. So, why is it necessary to use money (which the school board says is scarce) to pay for a special election to once again poll the taxpayers on this issue? Did the voters just get it wrong?
You now have the opinions of 20,760 voters. Will they have to pay again, and again until the supporters of this levy get the answer they desire? If so, why vote? Are votes so worthless that only the supporters know the correct answers? If the levy had passed, would we now be having another special election to give those opposed to this tax another chance at defeating the tax? I doubt it. In this special election if only, say 10,500 vote, 6,000 voters vote in favor of this tax and 4,500 vote against it, will that over rule the votes of 11,500 voters who opposed it in November?
This practice of "Vote until we get the answer we are looking for" should come to an end. At least a majority vote of more than 11,500 should be needed to modify the outcome of the vote taken Nov. 8.
We need statewide laws to prevent this practice. Under the present system all levies eventually will pass, whether the majority favors them or not. We now have taxation in spite of representation.
MERLE E. LEE
Youngstown
Same old Democrats
EDITOR:
From the election night highs of a mere week ago, it has not taken the local Democratic Party machinery long to bog down in the same kind of small-minded pettiness and rancor that has caused the party -- and the country -- so much anguish in recent years. I refer to the back office dust-up currently taking place to put forth a credible candidate to fulfill the unexpired state Senate term of Attorney General-elect Marc Dann, D-32, of Liberty.
Aside from the accusatory nature of this bickering, I note that, with the exception of State Representative Sandra Stabile-Harwood, D-65, Niles, and Anthony Gutierrez, precinct committee member, the nominees, despite their professional qualifications, have either disqualified themselves or been rejected by voters in past elections.
Although the news story has been over patronage, I find it sad that there has been little if any public discussion to determine the best candidates to fill this appointment. Apparently, in this Democratic committee's eyes, appointed candidates' qualifications center on their ability to curry favor, raise money and get elected, not on their ability to serve their constituents.
To borrow a phrase: please, say it isn't so.
ALLAN STROUSS
Hubbard
Defeat of Issue 3 is death knell for Ohio horse racing
EDITOR:
I'm sure now that the elections have passed, everyone is grateful to have the negative commercials off our TVs. But, if I may, I would like to revisit Issue 3. With the defeat of Issue 3, Ohio has guaranteed the demise of the horse racing industry in our state -- both thoroughbred and harness (an industry that employees over 250,00 people).
Voters who voted no, I'm sure have never bought a 50/50 ticket, played bingo, the lottery, bought raffle tickets from children to help finance school projects, or traveled on a junket to another state to gamble in their casinos.
Our nation was built on our right of free choice, and the separation of church and state. I resented implication of the religious community that we would all be damned by voting yes.
Ohio hosts one of the most prestigious races in the harness business, "The Little Brown Jug." This week of racing draws thousands of people from all over the country each September to Delaware. The boost to our economy is tremendous.
Unfortunately, I'm sure many of the horsemen, owners and workers are deciding this week where we might move so that our business and livelihood might survive. Many of the other people who have helped supply our trade are not as fortunate (vets, farriers, breeding farms, employees at each and every track).
MELISSA C. ROSS
Brookfield
The newest competitor
EDITOR:
An aware consumer already knows that it's next to impossible to purchase anything in this country without a label that reads "Made In China. & quot; Now corporate America is flooding the market with clothing and items from yet another Communist country -- Vietnam.
I grew up during the Vietnam War. I could not possibly wear a piece of clothing that carries that label. I consider it a slap in the face to the thousands who died and to the young men and women who returned to this country, whom we now honor as veterans. Yet President Bush traveled to Vietnam, partly to negotiate trade issues.
Cheap labor and a hefty bottom line continue to be first and foremost at the cost of jobs in this country, jobs that once put food on the table and clothes on the backs of American families.
Try to find a piece of clothing that carries "Made in USA." It's next to impossible. Maybe no one else cares about this issue, but every time I find a piece of clothing I may have otherwise purchased, I make sure I tell the store manager why I'm not buying it. Some nod in agreement, others just shrug their shoulders. Maybe time does heal all wounds, but I think the hungry consumer just doesn't care.
KATHLEEN KOCAN
Youngstown