In defense of Austintown

In defense of Austintown

EDITOR:

Recently, Forbes Magazine ranked Austintown, Ohio as the 5th dying town in the United States. They said they used information from the National Census as the basis for their ranks. I don’t doubt this is true, nor am I calling the accuracy of the U.S. Census into question. However, as a former and future Austintown resident, I feel it is imperative to defend my hometown.

I am a 2007 graduate of Austintown Fitch High School. During my 13 years in the Austintown public school district, I was fortunate to have teachers who changed the course of my life. Teachers who were willing to spend countless hours helping me long after the bell rang and did so because it was the right thing to do and they were invested in my education. The school system afforded me many opportunities scholastically — I was able to compete on a speech team known throughout the state, wrote for a newspaper that won awards on the county level and was offered AP courses. What is more important, however, is the confidence I gained from being surrounded by the faculty at Fitch High School — teachers, principals and guidance counselors who took interest in all of the aspects of a student’s life. Today, I live primarily outside of Austintown. In my two years of being a college student, I have discovered countless times that I am better prepared for higher education than a great deal of my peers. I have the Austintown school district to thank for that.

Another attribute that Forbes failed to take into consideration is the Austintown police force. Within recent history, the occurrences of violent crimes within Austintown have been very minimal. Additionally, I would challenge any staff member at Forbes Magazine to ask a resident the last time they felt unsafe inside township limits. I am confident that these occurrences are just as minimal. For my ability to play in my neighborhood after dark when I was a little kid and the opportunity to drive home safely after midnight during my high school years, I have the Austintown Police Department to thank.

In their attempt to turn a profit, Forbes took a break from ranking the money making abilities of CEOs (surely a hugely unpopular group of people right now) and targeted Austintown as the 5th dying town in the United States. Forbes states that it took into account “income growth, the rate of domestic in-migration, change of poverty, and the percentage of the population with a bachelors degree or higher.” I am not suggesting that Austintown is perfect, we may be lacking in some of these areas. However, I am declaring that Austintown has many positive attributes and there are many residents who are beyond proud of their hometown. I count myself as one of them, and I assure you there are many more where I come from.

KAITLIN DOCKRY

Cuyahoga Falls

Set an example, Congress

EDITOR:

If I understand it correctly, one of the main sticking points for the Senate not passing a loan to help the Detroit “Big Three” is the UAW’s refusal to make up-front pay and benefit concessions.

Now, to be on the safe side, I would estimate our country is quite a few more billions of dollars in debt than the auto industry.

In light of that, I am suggesting, as a show of good faith and as an example to the UAW, all employees of the federal government, except members of the military, take a cut in pay, receive no holiday pay, receive no paid vacations, no paid sick days, and paid personal leave days. In other words, be paid like a union construction worker.

Simply put: If you don’t work, you don’t get paid. You seem to be the mouth of the South and the Republican Party, Sen. Corker. What do you say?

DANIEL F. McCALLISTER

Retired Member, Laborers Local 343

Cheswick, Pa.