Adult center filled a need for Mahoning senior citizens

Adult center filled a need for Mahoning senior citizens

EDITOR:

For those Mahoning County residents who were unaware of the Adult Day Services program of the Mahoning County District Board of Health, I would like to give you some insight as to what this Day Care has meant to our senior citizens.

I feel it has been one of the best kept secrets in this Valley. It has been family to those who have none, self-esteem builders for those who needed it, socialization for the lonely, medical supervision and assessments from qualified registered nurses, communication between the client and his or her family when needed, activities that not only provided mental exercise but also put aging hands back to work making them proud of projects they created. If in the past several years you were to check out the Canfield Fair’s arts and crafts building at fair time you would find between 50 and 100 projects made by these seniors. They are delighted and proud when they receive their ribbons and rightfully so. There are too many positive feedbacks from this organization to list them all.

Last week I read in The Vindicator that the Mahoning County Health Department is closing its doors on the Adult Day Care Center. I know first hand of the accomplishments of the center because I was once one of their registered nurses for five years.

The current staff of the Adult Day Care has done an outstanding job in keeping our seniors not only in circulation with the rest of the world but has provided them numerous benefits as mentioned above. This staff has gone over and above obligated work assignments with little acknowledgement or reward, I applaud them.

Our society neglects its seniors in so many ways. This center gave back to our seniors a quality of life that living alone would not afford.

MARION CLEARY

Canfield

Pedophilia wasn’t the issue

EDITOR:

The recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI has allowed the political left and the mainstream news media to recycle one of their favorite lies: pedophile priests in the Catholic Church. As they did when the church scandal first broke, the left and the media continue to avoid the truth when reporting this issue.

Pedophilia was never a problem in the Catholic Church. That was just the term applied to it by those who could not admit the real issue to themselves or to the public. The real problem was homosexual priests recruiting teenage boys. Had the problem been pedophilia, young girls would have been paraded out as victims, but that wasn’t the case. The victims were all boys in their teenage years.

Many will not admit the fact because they see nothing wrong with homosexuality. The real scandal in the Catholic Church was that church leaders turned a blind eye to the number of homosexual men infiltrating the priesthood. It was these homosexual men who then made overtures to the impressionable teenage boys under their charge. Fortunately, the church has now revamped its screening process for prospective priests and has weeded out many who should not have been ordained.

But the political left and the news media will continue to push the pedophilia lie because they hate the Catholic Church and they don’t want to offend their friends in the homosexual community.

JOSEPH K. WALTENBAUGH

New Castle

Give the retirees a break

EDITOR:

In my response to the April 13 letter, “Retirees, time to step aside,” I agree that YSU turns out top notch graduates, but I doubt that the “retirees” are the ones who are taking their jobs. The only retirees I know or have seen are working in department stores, grocery stores, etc. I don’t think that students that graduate from YSU went to college for those kind of jobs. It seems that our society has a stigma against older people.

When I turned 50, I noticed the difference. All of a sudden, everywhere I go, I am referred to as Ma’am. At 60, I am asked, “Do you want your senior discount?” But stop and think about it. We have earned the right to be respected, so call me Ma’am, and you bet I’ll take that senior discount, I have earned it.

If I am retired and choose to go back to work, I have earned the right to choose what I want to do with my so-called “golden years”.

PATTY TOWNSEND

Liberty

And give school kids a break

EDITOR:

Students today receive too much homework! They do not have any time to have fun because homework takes way too long to finish. Students get enough hard work at school, so teachers should not give us any homework.

First, kids should not have any more homework because they do not have any time to have fun. Without being active, kids can become overweight. They can also become stressed out more easily. So, we should not have homework that takes two hours to complete. Students even get homework on the weekends, and that is just not fair. In school, kids get enough work so the teachers should not give them more work to complete.

In conclusion, homework should be banned or at least lessened. Homework takes way too long to complete. Kids do not have any time to play or have fun. Students have enough hard work at school.

KYLE THOMPSON

Canfield

X The writer is in the 6th grade.

What’s behind the glare of those tinted windows?

EDITOR:

Ohio drivers, beware of driving through Pennsylvania with tinted windows. My husband was pulled over with no other reason than to “meter” his windows for dark tint. There are no postings when entering the state on illegal tinting or “after market tinting”, and the State Police are sitting around waiting to pull over out-of-state drivers and ticket them. Maybe it’s their way of adding $100 to their state revenue. This truck was Pa.-inspected and sold in Ohio, so why wasn’t the tint removed when it is known to be illegal?

LINDA BIGGS

Leetonia

JEDD proposal is crazy

EDITOR:

I have recently read the JEDD proposal being offered to Austintown and Boardman by the city of Youngstown. This is the most ridiculous proposal I have ever seen in my life.

First of all, we should have a psychiatric evaluation of the Supreme Court judges who made this possible. In my opinion, this is the crux of the situation: The townships have no authority to tax themselves, so now Youngstown, because of its water supply, can tax them with just about nothing given in return. Can anyone see the justice of imposing a 2.25 percent income tax on the townships with 2 percent going to Youngstown and .25 percent being returned? In Boardman we could not even pass a 4.1-mill levy to pay for township services.

The city only supplies water to the part of Boardman north of Route 224. The water south of 224 is supplied by Aqua Ohio. I’m sure many of the businesses located in the northern area operate on a small profit margin and a 2 percent tax would probably force them to move to the southern portion of the township. Now let me ask the obvious question. Why would any new business locate in the area of Boardman where they would have to pay a 2.25 percent income tax when they could locate in an area with no income tax?

If this JEDD proposal were adopted, Youngstown would be rolling in money and all city employees would probably immediately receive a pay raise. All the city residents would be extremely happy with Mayor Williams and he could be mayor forever. Police and fire departments in the city would be expanded dramatically. And what about Boardman? The police, fire, and road departments would be reduced even further than they currently are. Many cuts in other routine services provided by the township would also suffer. Then, as businesses move out of the taxable area in Boardman, the city would increase the income tax to make up for the loss of income.

GEORGE GRIM

Boardman