Marc Dann: A clear example of what’s wrong with Valley

Marc Dann: A clear example of what’s wrong with Valley

EDITOR:

One only had to turn to page A4 of May 3’s Vindicator to see what is wrong with Valley politics.

Here we had complete coverage of the Marc Dann scandal: sexual harassment, sex scandal, cover-ups and failing to conduct a proper investigation of the crimes.

And then down the right hand column when local Democrats were asked “Should Dann Resign?” these are the answers our local Democratic leaders gave us:

Harry Meshel, former state senator: “I don’t know.”

Christ Michelakis, Trumbull County Democratic Chairman: “He’s got to clean up his act, or he won’t get re-elected.”

Lisa Antonini, Mahoning County Democratic chairman: “He can still do his job effectively.”

Bob Hagan, State Representative: No Comment.

There you have it. A local Democratic Party that only serves and protects the invited members of its own little club. Its members press the flesh come election time and tell us how they stand for ethical government and no corruption, but after they are re-elected they stand up and defend their fellow elected crooked party members until the cows come home.

If we ever want to change politics here in the Mahoning Valley, we need to begin electing independent candidates who will work for the poor, working and middle class and not let their political party connections cloud their judgment when one of their own commits unethical acts.

DENNIS S. SPISAK

Struthers

Holier-than-thou Republicans rush to judgment on Dann

EDITOR:

I am in no way condoning what has happened in the attorney general’s office. But let’s take a look in the mirror, especially all the politicians and see who’s squeaky clean within their own closets here. The only real mistake Dann made here is hiring his friends instead of hiring employees. Yes, the affair with an insubordinate or for that matter, anyone, is a personal matter for Dann and his wife to work out, and it was just plain foolish and stupid of Mark Dann. Another mistake was sharing an apartment with his subordinates. But when hiring friends, especially of the character of Anthony Gutierrez, it shows a bad mistake in Dann’s judging of personnel and can be overcome by more intense training, not impeachment. But in this case, I think, Dann let the cloudy judgment of friendship override his common sense of hiring a qualified employee. Dann says it’s his loyalty to his friends as to why he hired them, but in this case it cost Dann dearly. And clearly this is a mistake that was made but can be corrected as a learning experience, not as grounds for an impeachment.

But all of the things that have happened over the last several weeks are not impeachable offenses.

Should he be reprimanded? Most certainly. But impeached? No way. Let’s face some facts. The Republicans are only looking to get back because of their own screw-ups that Dann uncovered. Funny how he showed us how underhanded and mismanaged “Coingate” was, and you never heard the word “impeach” mentioned anywhere even from the Democrats.

But when the holier-than-thou Republicans uncover something wrong on the Democratic side, that’s the first words out of their mouths. I would like to see a very thorough investigation of all the people, especially the Republican side, both personal and public into business dealings and political dealings and see how many of them come out squeaky clean.

Then we have the conservatives; for them this is the most heinous thing that has happened since Adam and Eve. Listen people. get over it. It happens every day and when looked at more closely, most infidelities are committed by whacked-out conservatives. Anyway, let’s get back into the 21st century here. There’s one more lesson to be learned here that everyone can take heed of and that’s when pointing fingers, remember, there are three fingers always pointing right back at you.

JOHN MIRTO Hubbard

Union nurses are committed to keeping Northside open

EDITOR:

On Wednesday of Nurses’ Week, like most days, I ate my lunch with many of the professional union nurses at Northside Medical Center. This day was over shadowed by the leaking of a draft report from the Ohio attorney general concerning Northside. The mood at Northside was not somber but one of gritty determination and one of victory. While, it has become fashionable to throw Northside under the bus, we were celebrating the necessity to re-open our recently closed nursing floor. We also discussed what appears to be the unspoken truth about the labor heritage at Northside. Northside employs 568 union nurses that provide excellent care. The only time that our union heritage is discussed anymore is when there is negative news. People avoid us like the plague and receive their care at nonunion shops all the time. When does the fact that the only union representing nurses in the county is at Northside going to saturate into the consumer base? All of us at the table buy GM cars, notice when a grocery store is picketed and wish to support Valley businesses. We recognize that word of mouth can be devastatingly harmful. All had an anecdotal story of someone who thinks we are closed or going to close. We are resolved to remain open. We are resolved to provide excellent care to all who enter Northside. We will do it with class, grace and compassion that all deserve. We encourage you to look for the union label the next time you receive your next IV, pill or shot. To my nurses at Northside, Happy Nurses’ Week; too bad no one noticed.

JON W. ARNOTT M.D.

Senior vice president of quality and utilization

Northside Medical Center

Youngstown

If you find a stray dog, please try to return it to its owner

EDITOR:

There are signs all around where I live about a black lab that is missing. This might be the same dog my family found.

The dog has an electric fence, but always runs through it. The owners should either get a metal fence, put the dog on a leash and walk it outside, or get a tie outside with a rope for it.

The owners are lucky we found their dog and called them. Some people who find a dog with a tag and/or phone number decide to keep it without calling the owner.

Doing this gives the owner the idea that their dog is dead. For kids, it might be worse because their dog might have been very close to them.

For all the people reading this that return dogs to their owner, thank you. For everybody that doesn’t, this letter gives you an idea of what you’re putting the owners through.

Please, if you find a dog with a tag and/or phone number, no matter how much you want to keep it, return the dog to its owner.

You won’t know how much it helps the dog and its owner.

KRYSTAL BATES

Canfield