When well drillers arrive, it’s time to pay attention

When well drillers arrive, it’s time to pay attention

EDITOR:

With the increase in cost of natural gas, which is the primary source for most residential properties, there appears to be “gas well mania” in local areas. I feel the need to issue a warning.

Residents, especially near schools, churches, and businesses should be very cautious before signing any “Non-Development Oil and Gas Lease.” At the very least, contact someone knowledgeable regarding such contracts. Find out where the proposed drilling is most likely to happen. If you are an adjacent land owner, don’t sign any agreement before knowing the placement of the well, the storage tank, and — above all — the placement of the meter assemblage.

As residents of a recently completed neighboring natural gas well, next door to a church, we were appalled to return home one day to find a large, obtrusive, objectionally conspicuous meter assemblage next to our property line, near the entrance to our driveway.

Originally the well, tank, et al, were planned for the northern side of the church, which contracted for the well, in back of their parking lot. Personnel who changed the location to the south side gave little or no consideration to the effect upon the adjoining property. The meter assembly is now enclosed by a fence that is 4-feet wide, 21-feet long and 6-feet high. This is an obstructive eyesore. Even the church pastor admitted he would not want such an assemblage beside his own driveway.

Any resident being approached to give drilling permission should investigate all aspects of the proposed site. Before any drilling near your property, especially adjacent land owners, contact the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, 2045 Morse Road, Bldg. #1, Columbus, Ohio 43229-6693. Plans for all well sites are submitted to that office for approval prior to drilling.

What little, if any, “royalties” divided between all signees, (an estimated 70 or more properties involved), will never compensate for the eyesore we see every day that affects our curb appeal and property value. Remember, the person who approaches a property owner to ‘sign on’ is just a salesperson for the drilling company.

Hopefully, this letter will prevent another property owner from heartache and anxiety from the “drilling mania”.

GENE C. and WANDA A. DAVIS

Youngstown

U.S. needs to change

EDITOR:

One thing that everyone in this country should come away with after watching the Olympics is the fact that China is an economic powerhouse that may soon supplant the United States as the world’s foremost economic power, and this has serious implications for our upcoming elections. Not only China, but all of Asia is on the rise economically while we are on the decline. This country needs to focus on choosing the best candidate available to turn things around and stop focusing on the culture wars that we have been fighting among ourselves for the last decade while our economy is eroding.

China, India, South Korea, Japan and other Asian economics are succeeding because they are educating children in math, science and technology. They are not debating prayer in schools. They are not trying to rewrite Darwin’s theories or put creationism into textbooks. They are doing real science, real math and developing real technology that is the springboard of any economy. This is a greater threat to our society than a terrorist attack. Our children are no longer competing against the child sitting next to them, but against a child sitting on the other side of the world.

The people of this country need to do a quick about face or we are going to be on a slide to economic disaster, if it is not too late already. Can a man like John McCain, who has no idea about the Internet or how important a role it plays in the world economy, meet the serious challenges that face us economically and educationally? John McCain is a man deserving of great respect for what he went through as a prisoner of war generations ago, but that does not mean he is equipped to lead us in this generation.

There may be reasons not to vote for Barack Obama, but lack of understanding of what it takes to compete in the world economy is not one of them. And neither is his race, his sex or his religion.

Mr. Obama and his wife did not get where they are in life today because they were born into wealth and status. They each had to overcome almost insurmountable odds. And if the two of them can make themselves successful starting from scratch, then they can help make any child in this country be successful the same way.

FRANK D. DUNDEE

Boardman

There’s no comparison

EDITOR:

A letter published last Sunday, “McCain’s the one out of step,” contains some faulty observations.

First any attempt to compare the Russian invasion of Georgia with the United States’ invasion of Iraq begins and ends with the word “invasion.” The world agreed that Iraq had violated 17 U.N. Security Council resolutions. However, the world differed on how it should respond to Iraq’s violations. Some sought additional diplomacy and inspections, while others led by the United States saw invasion as the appropriate response. There was broad debate and deliberation, on the world stage, before military action was taken.

On the other hand, there is no allegation that Georgia violated any U.N. Security Council resolution nor was there any discussion on the world stage prior to Russia’s invasion of Georgia. Russia rather sees its actions in Georgia in line with U.S. military actions in Kosovo. In Kosovo, the United State, under the Clinton administration and through NATO, launched a military campaign to force Yugoslavian forces, who were engaged in “ethnic cleansing,” out of Kosovo. The US supported Kosovo’s independence which it won last year, despite bitter opposition from Russia.

Is the U.S. in a pickle when it comes to Russia’s invasion of Georgia? Yes. However, to blame it on Iraq is disingenuous.

Was the “surge” in Iraq a wise policy decision? To avoid the question by arguing we should not have been in Iraq to begin with is disingenuous. They are separate questions. Once in Iraq the surge was a wise course of action, and it has worked in contributing to a substantial reduction in violence. John McCain was correct on that point.

Barack Obama says he opposed the Iraq War from the start. Did he? In 2004, Obama was asked how he would have voted on the Iraq War had he been in the Senate in October 2002 and his response was, “I don’t know.” .

EUGENE G. BERNAT

Boardman