Why Youngstown is dying

Why Youngstown is dying

EDITOR:

After reading an Aug. 5 news article on the 10 fastest dying cities in America, one can only agree with the article why Youngstown was listed No. 2 when looking at the city as a whole. If I were one of these people transferring to this area to work at General Motors with a family I would be looking for an area that has the following criteria:

1. The school system. Youngstown has one of the most inept and embarrassing school systems I have ever seen for any city of our size. It doesn’t seem right to pass a levy if the people who would be in charge of spending levy monies can’t seem to find any solutions to their problems they have right now. Question to the superintendent: Instead of cutting school programs and laying off teaching personnel, how about laying off some of the inept upper management and maybe taking a pay cut yourself until you get a real grasp of the systems situation.

2. Safety services. Police who leave their shifts early and refuse to answer certain calls shouldn’t be reprimanded, but fired. I’d like to see how many businesses wouldn’t fire employees if they would walk off and leave early or their work areas unattended or not help a customer if they asked for help. We have high crime areas and are awarded extra monies from the feds to police high crime areas. These spot patrols they have almost nightly might get a couple of drunks off the road but it sure doesn’t stop the murders, beatings and rapes that are so often reported in the paper. Maybe they should re-direct these monies to more serious problems within the city.

3. Local entertainment. Well there is the Chevy Centre. They’re just now getting their act together after years of mismanaging the center. Youngstown couldn’t even have a night out like other surrounding communities because no one took it upon themselves to find out the person who planned and promoted it had retired.

Now let us address something entirely different here. We have an indoor football team with mostly players that have never played any local ball here and The Vindicator, along with all local media both print and video, promote this team. Yet we have four local minor league (semi-pro, if you will) teams full of all local, regional, and college talent but not one of these teams can get a 30-second spot on television or an interview in print. What a shame that is. All of you media outlets should be ashamed of yourselves and quit making the excuses for not being there for these teams.

There are many other reasons why people are leaving or won’t relocate here, and until we get more positive and forward thinking people, similar to Mayor Williams, in upper level management positions in Youngstown government about the only thing that can be said of Youngstown is: “Last one out, turn out the lights.”

JOHN MIRTO

Hubbard

They got what they deserved

EDITOR:

I cannot appalud Judge R. Scott Krichbaum enough for the prison sentences he imposed on drunken drivers Randy Bragwell and Paul Stillon.

The time is long past due for those who choose to drive drunk to realize they are ciminals committing a crime that warrants more punishment than a slap on the wrist.

MARY LOU JURINA

Youngstown