West Side gets short shrift

West Side gets short shrift

EDITOR:

I’ve been a library user since I learned to read. I’ve been going to the West Branch for over 40 years. It will be a great loss to me when it closes and for many others — children, students, adults and especially those who walk there for whatever reasons. I’m having shoulder surgery next month and won’t be able to drive for six weeks. Previously, I thought, well, at least I can walk to the library, but now that may not be possible.

I appreciate the efforts of our councilwoman, Carol Righetti, to get an extension for two months. But Carlton Sears and the trustees and other various committees made up their minds years ago and it will close regardless of the token gesture they made to give us time to come up with funds.

I understand the loss of income for the library system. Mahoning County and the state of Ohio have been on an economic downward spiral for years. You don’t have to be an Einstein or Warren Buffet to have seen the writing on the wall. So why did they build the pseudo Taj Mahal libraries in Poland and Austintown costing millions of dollars? Then with the design flaws and poor choice of location, they had to spend additional tens of thousands of dollars to correct it.

They spent money like a drunken sailor. Which is an insult to a drunken sailor, as at least they spend their own money, not the taxpayers.

Little was done to maintain the West Branch, so now they’re being prudent and don’t have money for repairs. Talk about closing the barn door after the horse is stolen. Yet in the last two years, they had money to build new libraries on the East and South sides of Youngstown. The West Side population, which foots the bill for most of the other parts of Youngstown, is completely ignored.

They won’t be just closing a library. It is a focal point of the West Side and what they are doing is a travesty.

TERRY GALLAGHER

Youngstown

A congressional monster

EDITOR:

Friday night the House passed a bill that will forever change America. In the name of climate change, Congress decided to pass a monster of a bill without having sufficient time as to even read it. U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan supported this bill, which had 300 pages added to it at 3 a.m. that morning, so he certainly hadn’t read it all when he voted for it.

Working class people will suffer the most from the higher energy bills that will be caused by this bill. With the added taxes it certainly isn’t the energy companies who will struggle as they will pass this sinful tax onto the consumers. The CBO estimates this climate bill will cost the average household $175 a year because of this tax.

Not only are people going to suffer higher bills from passing the tax onto the consumer, it’s going to be a lot harder to find a job because of cap and trade, which is a part of the bill. Companies are going to find it a lot harder to stay in business producing things in America when the government wants to tax any productive entity. So, as Americans, we now have to deal with this out of control huge government, a recession that will be signed into law through this climate bill, and, without a doubt, higher energy bills.

JOHN G. BREEDLOVE Jr.

Austintown