Note to council, mayor

Note to council, mayor

EDITOR:

I’m a life-long resident of Youngstown, currently living on the Westside. I was outraged and appalled and quite frankly fearful regarding the disturbance that occurred at Bort’s Pool on Monday, July 7. The chaos moved from the parking lot onto Connecticut and Millet avenues while totally blocking traffic. Our mayor and council members strive to bring business into our city but are unable to control the people who are destroying this great town day by day.

The neighbors of Bort’s Pool are weary of the contemptible, worthless people who don’t have respect for our community and its law abiding citizens.

The good people of Youngstown are reluctant to sit on their own front porches for fear of being attacked by one of these hoodlums. In my younger years, there was never a need for police protection at Bort’s Pool. Now it is like a battlefield; you never know when a fight is going to happen.

If these antisocial, aggressive delinquents cannot handle themselves in a respectful manner while at a public park, then perhaps the only answer is to close the facility

Mayor Williams and City Council members: Between the empty houses and the people who don’t care about our community we are losing the battle to keep our city safe and secure.

These people are forcing us, who love the West Side, to leave.

ZORA GRIMM

Youngstown

Exclusive rights to our business is worth more

EDITOR:

There is an old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.” This is exactly what the Liberty Township trustees are trying to do. They are contemplating changing the way residents unload their garbage/trash. There are now three companies operating in the township, Allied Waste, City Disposal and Waste Management. The trustees want to create a district and designate an exclusive trash hauler for the district.

In a two week period, Allied Waste was the only company to bid, offering to do the service for $15.43 per residence. If this passes, all residences will have to use Allied Waste Services. Any other trash collection company that continues to do business in the township could be fined. Allied Waste has also agreed to pick up all the township waste for free, saving the township $11,000 a year. Get real, nothing is ever free. The cost will be padded into the resident’s bills, so we pay either way.

We do not see enough of a savings to offer one company exclusive rights to the township for a three year time period. If approved, the new plan will prohibit households from pooling trash. There were no provisions made for senior citizen discounts, which current companies offer.

Please note that 60 percent of all residents will see their monthly rates increase, not go down in cost, our family included. Two of the trustees asked for another public meeting before the bid ends on July 23. We sincerely appreciate their wisdom and common sense to suggest this action. Thank you. That meeting has been set for July 14 at 7 p.m. The issue will be on the agenda during the regular meeting. Discussion and questions will be allowed during this meeting.

Our family is asking the trustees to go back to the drawing board. Look at all of the facts, even consider placing the issue on the November ballot. Let the residents vote (majority rule) on this issue. Get more bids, not just one company but all involved. This will allow fair competition. Better yet, don’t try to fix what is not broken. Don’t change a thing. Allow our people to continue to choose the company they want, according to their income and family needs. This will allow healthy competition for all trash service companies. Please, come to the meeting, or call the trustees, e-mail or write a letter with your opinion and comments on this issue.

MR. and MRS. JOHN HAMMER

Liberty Township

Streamline airport security

EDITOR:

Last week I made a round trip to Orlando, Florida to attend an International Convention. Once again I was reminded of the abuse heaped on the airline travelers by national security personnel.

Everyone has to go through this very long line and show their boarding pass and identification. Then they proceed to an area where they pass through an X-ray device. However, before that they have to practically strip to their underwear and put their clothes and personal items in a plastic box. The plastic box then goes through an X-ray device and the passenger goes through an X-ray device. If no warnings are heard the passenger can then proceed to an area where they can dress again. Then if you are a 97-year-old, 80-pound woman, you are likely to be pulled aside for a careful hand search. Does this happen once in a while on a random basis? No. It happens every time you need to board a plane. Surely something can be done to do away with this tremendous waste of customer time in inconvenience.

My idea is to have any traveler who wants to do this go through a vigorous background check and be issued a National Security Identification Card upon successful completion of the background check. I am a Navy veteran who had high level security clearance in the Navy, a Boy Scout leader who has background checks performed periodically, and a licensed thoroughbred horse owner in Pennsylvania where another background check, including fingerprinting, is conducted. I do not look like the typical profile of the terrorists who have attacked this country. I would never do anything to jeopardize my safety or the safety of anyone else on a plane trip. Not only would the National Identification Card save customers a lot of time but just think of the airport expense that could be eliminated.

GEORGE GRIM

Boardman

Something new in Canfield

EDITOR:

The Canfield Rotary and its sponsors hosted a free fireworks display at the Canfield Fairgrounds. People enjoyed a great fireworks display and Karaoke, face painting, clowns, impromptu football and Frisbee games, camaraderie and much more.

Several Canfield Rotarians worked for months to organize this event, and many more helped on the day of the event. With the financial support of our corporate sponsors (listed on our website, www.CanfieldRotary.org) and the volunteer labor of our club members, the event was free this year. This was strictly a service project. We did not expect to make any money on the event, nor did we make any.

In the past, there was a charge of $10 per car. Without a fee, attendance was four times greater than anticipated. Consequently, there were problems, which we readily admit. You can be sure that we intend to address and solve them before next year’s event. We extend our apologies to anyone who was inconvenienced.

Rotary’s mission is to provide service, and our goal with this event was to give back to the communities that have supported the many Rotary Clubs throughout our tri-county area.

We hope that anyone who experienced difficulties this year will give us another try next year, and those who didn’t get an opportunity to enjoy this 4th of July with us will plan on doing so in 2009.

BILL HENDRICKS

Canfield Rotary president

SAM BOAK

Community service chairman

Canfield