Beatitude House sees the importance of bus service

Beatitude House sees the importance of bus service

EDITOR:

The board of directors of Beatitude House recently voted to endorse the WRTA tax levy for Mahoning County. As one of the directors, I am honored to write on behalf of that endorsement.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to have our sight, our health, a driver’s license, a car and enough money to fill the tank take a lot for granted. Take away any one of these and you can then imagine what it is like for a many of the elderly, the disabled and the poor to get along without a public transportation system in our county. Service cut-backs due to levy failures have been difficult for many.

At Beatitude House, 70 of the 218 women in our programs have neither cars nor driver’s licenses — yet they still have to find a way to get themselves and their children to work, to school and to doctor’s appointments. During these economic hard times, many others in our community face these challenges as well.

Imagine that you have just been diagnosed with Epilepsy and the doctor takes away your driver’s license. What could you do without public transportation? Imagine that macular degeneration has taken away your privilege of independence and your children do not live close enough to help you. Where would you turn?

We have taken the Western Reserve Transit Authority for granted for too long. This lifeline in our community cannot run on empty for long. Please vote yes for the WRTA 0.25 percent sales tax in November. The increased revenue for our public transportation system will also provide small bus curb-to-curb service for anyone throughout Mahoning County.

As a long-time resident of Mahoning County, I have witnessed the generosity of our community many times. Your YES vote for Issue 8 is a vote for independence for the elderly, the disabled and the disadvantaged. It is also a vote for a more healthy, hopeful community.

NANCY W. BEEGHLY

Struthers

Young voters are too easily deceived; raise voting age

EDITOR:

The age for legal consumption of alcoholic beverages was raised from 18 to 21 years. That was presumably done to give an individual three more years of maturation before assuming the potentially enormous responsibilities associated with drinking alcoholic beverages.

I propose that the same be done for the voting age. The selection of a political candidate can have serious consequences that are not recognized by immature voters. Most people at age 18 know little of economics, tax, politics, the military or other government functions. Yet, by their numbers, that age may have a decisive effect on an election.

Not relegated only to the youngest voters is the fact that many are strongly influenced by a political candidate’s persona. Appearance, speech, and style hold stronger sway for those easily lead by qualities of lesser substance rather than the candidate’s understanding of the fundamentals of sound government.

Voters must look beyond the persona and understand the consequences of the beliefs and proposals of the candidate for whom they are voting. This will be particularly true of the upcoming presidential election.

LOREN KINDLER

Hubbard

Taxes are a necessary evil

EDITOR:

I have read lately that many voters, whether for Obama or McCain, are worried to vote for either candidate because they feel that if the wrong one gets in, their taxes will go up significantly. In these weary economic times, I understand their concerns that no matter who gets in, taxes will go up. How high I do not know, but I do know this: Its the natural order of things.

The economy is horrible: Who pays for it? Taxpayers. The $700 billion bailout: Who pays for it? Taxpayers. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: Who pays for those? Taxpayers. Levies need to be passed and are paid for by who? You guessed it, taxpayers. In order for our townships and cities to function and maintain our safety and such, taxpayers pay the taxes to keep them functioning.

Expect taxes to be raised and your wallets to get smaller, and it doesn’t matter if the next president of our United States is McCain or Obama. They have to raise taxes in order for this government to remain running because it is in my opinion that those taxes we all pay, whether we like it or not, are what keeps us all going. Without taxes, where would we truly be? There’s something to think about.

MELISSA MAGAN

Youngstown

It gets crazier and crazier

EDITOR:

Many, many years ago, there was a full-page Sunday color comics feature called Count Screwloose from Tooloose. It was drawn by Milt Gross of New York City. Count Screwloose dwelled in a place for people with mental deficiencies called “Nuttycrest.” Each Sunday the diminutive count would escape from Nuttycrest and observe a certain aspect of society. In the final panel he would run back to Nuttycrest and jump over the wall, back inside yelling out to his cross-eyed dog with a Napoleon-style hat (they even had a place for mentally deficient pets at Nuttycrest, apparently) “Iggy, keep an eye on me!” obviously meaning Iggy should prevent Count Screwloose from escaping again because the crazies are really on the outside; not in Nuttycrest.

The feature ended in 1945; Milt Gross died in 1950. Wouldn’t it be great if that feature could be revived and published one more time? It would show Count Screwloose escaping from Nuttycrest then going to Wall Street to observe the demise of many financial institutions: Bear-Stearns, Merill-Lynch, Lehman Bros., Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, Wachovia, “WaMu” and American Insurance Group. He could watch the AIG private jet take off for a hoity-toity California resort where rooms go for $1,000 a night or more, after the U.S. Government handed AIG some $82 million and gave them $32 million more after the fat cats returned.

Count Screwloose could then run to Washington to observe Congress lamenting about paying out $700 billion in tax money to keep these financial houses in order. They passed it, of course, technically engaging in the very socialism they feared the Russians would foist upon America if it ever conquered us which is what they professed in the 1950s and ‘60s. Remember Nikita Khrushchev at the U.N. and “we will bury you”? The count could realize it wasn’t the Russians who brought Socialism to our shores, but was the very bastion of capitalism: Wall Street. Count Screwloose would dash back to Nuttycrest so fast, he’d make Jesse Owens look lethargic. Iggy, keep an eye on us,

J.E. BLACK

Austintown

We’ve lost a lot; what’s next?

EDITOR,

The Oct. 5 letter, “What do the workers get?”, was correct. Where are we right now? What led us here?

We lost the right to pray. We lost the right to smoke. What will it be next? Will we lose the right to honor and salute our flag?

And what about the people who live at or below the poverty level?

We are so tired of hearing about the middle class and what they are going to get, yet everyday thousands lose their jobs, their income, their insurance and the state and federal governments either won’t or can’t help.

The Democrats are for the middle class. The Republicans are for sending more jobs overseas. Both parties want to raise taxes, but it seems like the closer we get to voting day, the more each of them are so busy throwing mud at each other, its like they are children and not responsible adults.

Think about it: Do we really want either of them running our country? I don’t think so.

I hope there is a third choice on the ballot, otherwise I think we are lost.

ROSEMARY MORGAN

Girard

County should help, not hurt

EDITOR:

The foreclosure crisis ignited the financial meltdown of the country. Here at home, the sale of delinquent tax liens by our treasurer to American Tax Funding continues to contribute to the deterioration of neighborhoods throughout Mahoning County.

During a commissioners meeting in April, I pleaded that the county not sign another contract with American Tax Funding and to discontinue the practice of selling real estate property tax liens to this Florida corporation. Work with these homeowners on their delinquent real estate taxes and cancel the December tax sale to American Tax Funding or risk even more abandoned homes in our communities.

Kathy Miller, Realtor

Boardman