Has Belinky been paying attention to the fiscal crisis?

Has Belinky been paying attention to the fiscal crisis?

EDITOR:

The headline in the Aug. 28 Vindicator reads, “County caves to Judge Belinky.” In following this story of Judge Belinky demanding an increased budget, taking the county to court and then holding his staff hostage in a game of chicken with the county, I wonder if the judge reads this paper or any paper? Does he watch any cable news or any TV news or listen to any news on the radio? Any casual glance would tell the judge that the world, our country, our state and our county are going through a financial crisis second only to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Households, businesses, county government and state government are all going through a tremendous process of reducing expenses and in many cases having to do without. Since it seems the judge has not caught wind of any of this going on, he is asking for more and uses the threat of laying off his staff to get what he wants. Shame on him and shame on the voters who elected a man of such poor judgement. When asked why he did not do more to avert this crisis in his office, he replied, “We can’t operate that way.” Really?

The voters elected the wrong man last November. They could have elected Judge Scott Hunter who would have brought good judgment and sound fiscal management to this office. I hope the people of Mahoning County do not forget this sad episode when Judge Belinky comes up for re-election. We can do better, and we certainly deserve better.

PETER F. SAUER

Canfield

‘Worst’ is a word that hurts

EDITOR:

We were appalled when we saw the Aug. 26 Vindicator headline that used the word “worst” to describe all of the staff and students in the Youngstown City Schools. Although the article was factual, we are disturbed about the negative way the facts were presented.

The headline could have been written in a more informative way without using such words. The headline was bolder and darker than any headline for the entire previous week. We feel that this is sensationalism. Words have power and can be used to influence how people react to a situation.

The way this information was presented to the readers only perpetuates the negativity that already exists in the Mahoning Valley and Youngstown in particular. As the only newspaper in Youngstown, it should support the community including the school system.

DONNA HAGEMAN, Youngstown

PENNY WELLS, Boardman

MARTHA LARGENT, Canfield

Sign says it all

EDITOR:

For most of us who shop at the Struthers IGA, the sign on the front page of last Sunday’s Vindicator says it all (Picketers should get Real Jobs). Actually I don’t fault the pickets nearly as much as the union people who pay them.

They’re being paid to stand there holding a sign and in this economy you take what you can get. This union claims that they are engaged in “informational picketing” and yet the signs clearly and unequivocally tell customers not to shop there. If the picketing were truly “informational” the signs would say something like “This store is non-union in case you care” (most of us don’t). The goal of this union is to create as much havoc for Mr. Nemenz and his store as possible.

If they were to put him out of business, you can be sure they’d consider it a victory. Obviously it wouldn’t be a victory for those of us who shop there, the employees of the store, or the community (think Hubbard).

JOHN ZEDAKER

Poland