Sometimes appointment is a better method than election

Sometimes appointment is a better method than election

EDITOR:

While, as a resident of Trumbull County, I would not have been able to vote in any Mahoning County primary, I watched with interest the flap in the Mahoning County race for the nomination for sheriff. That has brought me to several points of concerned.

First is the immediate point. To me, accreditation of an educational facility means only this. That is accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and by the professional associations associated with the North Central. Period.

Then there is the idea of taking the courses online, and this doesn’t apply only to law enforcement classes. How can anyone resorting to this means have any face-to-face dialogue with the instructor teaching the class, and, more importantly, any dialogue with the other participants in the class. Such is important in any class, let alone college undergraduate and post-graduate classes. A person utilizing only online courses may claim 20 years experience, but it can only be equivalent to 1 year’s experience 20 times.

The second point of concern is the obsolete idea of electing any officials involved in enforcing or interpreting the law. An article in the newspaper Sunday supplement, the Parade of Feb. 24, by Sandra Day O’Connor about courts and elected judges, points out the serious problems involved in that asinine farce, and what she says can be extended to sheriffs and prosecutors as well.

Granted, we have had, and now have many good officials elected under the obsolete system, but we have had, and now have, many clunkers. And, according to Sandra Day O’Connor, things will get worse as partisanship increases. Will a change eliminate all problems? No. But it would reduce them to a much more manageable level.

Of course, there are problems associated with appointed officials. I do have some ideas on that, but that would be the subject of another letter.

Now I expect there will be arguments and excuses in favor of the status quo. As far as I am concerned, they will all be as lame as a three-legged horse.

JEROME K. STEPHENS

Warren

When will it end?

EDITOR:

When will our rust image be laid to rest? When will the scenes of a decaying town stop being the focal point of national newscasts? When will our local leaders steer visiting media to our emerging and historical glory? These are the nagging questions perplexing many Mahoning County residents.

Instead of showing our Kelly Pavlik running through decay, why not show him running up the steps of our glorious Stambaugh Auditorium with the caption “Meet Our Own Rocky”. Why not have Kelly run on the beautiful winding curves of Mill Creek Park and pan in on Fellow’s Gardens? Why not? Why not show scenes of our urban renewal, our new housing and our green areas? Why not show visiting political dignitaries, our potential at YSU and our blossoming high tech incubators? Why not?

Those individuals in our area, who are holding positions capable of influencing our public image, are falling short of their responsibility. Where are our positive promoters? Why do we constantly try to garner sympathy by visiting the last remnants of 30-year- old decay? Why must we always be a part of the “grit”? When will our Phoenix rise?

BEVERLY MURESAN

Canfield