Preserve the Wilson name

Preserve the Wilson name

EDITOR:

As a proud alumni of Woodrow Wilson, I am asking all fellow alumni and community members to help retain our school name on the new building at our original site of over 80 years of quality education.

And as a veteran charter and social studies instructor, the historical significance of Woodrow Wilson, the war and Woodrow Wilson, our beloved building, should not be overlooked.

The building I currently teach in, McPherson Middle School in Clyde, Ohio, will be replaced in fall of 2010 by a beautiful new structure, but our local board of education wisely decided to keep our name, which honors local hero Gen. James McPherson, the highest ranking officer of the Union army to be killed during the Civil War.

I strongly urge the Youngstown Board of Education to do the right thing also and retain the name Woodrow Wilson in honor of both the man and the wonderful, wonderful school.

BILL YOUNG

Woodrow Wilson Class of 1969

Green Springs, Ohio

A Mahoning Valley enigma

EDITOR:

I am a former resident of the Mahoning Valley. Having lived in the area almost 60 years, I still have many ties to the area.

I applaud the new call center locating in Youngstown. The new jobs are welcome, even though they are little better than minimum wage. What I don’t understand is the very vehement opposition to GM and Delphi getting tax breaks. All companies today pit states and local communities against each other for some type of tax incentive, tax rebate, or tax abatement for a number of years.

As has happened many times in the past, after these tax breaks expire, these companies close and/or ask for more. Delphi has had a presence in the Mahoning Valley for close to 100 years. GM for over 40. Their pay is much better than minimum wage.

I really don’t understand.

RONALD TAMBURINO

Port Orange, Florida

Another reason for reform

EDITOR:

Within the last two months, numerous articles in The Vindicator have covered health care reform, the difficult economy and the overall impact on family planning.

According to reports, Ohio ranks 48th in access to contraception (9/22/09) and half of all births in Ohio are unintended (9/23/09). Another report claims the economic downturn also brings a slump in births (10/18/09) yet this report cites other state data, not Ohio. I wonder what Ohio might expect to see, given our status. Isn’t it only reasonable that families have greater access to birth control when they can least afford to feed, clothe and shelter another child?

Real reform will include women’s health care and will give families the ability to sustain themselves. I urge everyone to support health care reform and our representative Tim Ryan as he votes to support real reform on behalf of his constituents who urgently need increased access to all health care.

CAROLINE JONES

Health Center Manager for Youngstown and Cortland

Planned Parenthood of Northeast Ohio

Youngstown

Obama’s long overreach

EDITOR:

So our “Dear Leader” is dictating the pay of executives in private businesses. While at it, why isn’t he addressing the truly obscene salaries of professional ball players? Bias?

German school children used to sing the praises of Hitler, while the Chinese school children sang the praises of Mao. Are these people our president’s role models? If so, at the certainty of being politically incorrect, God help us all.

MARINA D. LOGAN

Brookfield

Rein in the goofballs

EDITOR:

I can’t believe that the Republican Party is letting right wing goofballs like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Karl Rove and Sarah Palin speak for their cause, whatever that may be. This group and others are hardly conservatives. They want to continue to transfer power and wealth from the great majority of people to those who already have too much and who have brought on the greatest economic crisis in 80 years.

Their kind of right wing conservative thinking has brought us 30 years of declining wages, 15 percent to 18 percent unemployment, 50 million Americans without health care, CEOs making 400 times that of the average worker, increasing poverty, a shrinking middle class, a failing standard of living, a government that lied to us and took us into an unnecessary and disastrous war ... I could go on and on.

Whenever these nut cases come on, grab the remote, pop in a DVD, preferably one of Michael Moore’s, and enjoy.

BUD McKELVEY

Hermitage

The cost of Afghanistan war rises at $5 billion a month

EDITOR:

On “Meet the Press,” Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey was asked if we can defeat the Taliban. He replied that in 10 years, at $5 billion a month, we can leave Afghanistan with a viable government and national army.

I did the math. That adds up to $600 billion. Does anybody really believe that the Taliban are a $600 billion threat to America’s national security? Think about it. If our generals had been told around 1980 when USSR invaded Afghanistan that we can trick them into blowing $600 billion in Afghanistan they would have leaped for joy. “Let’s go for it,” they would have shouted. “Do you really think they could be that stupid?”

Apparently money is no object to the U.S. government and there is no stopping us from betting on this poker game. It’s true that the Taliban are pretty bad by our own political standards although more or less about the same as the other power/political parties in Afghanistan, but they are not and never have been a threat to America’s security. It all boils down to this: We can save about 450,000 American lives in ten years by putting our money in health care for all, or we can do the “patriotic” thing and leave Afghanistan with a viable government. Maybe.

ROGER LAFONTAINE

Youngstown

First, earn their trust

EDITOR:

Maybe the reason the Mahoning County sales tax was voted down was because people do not think that the commissioners are always good stewards of county money, and therefore do not want this tax to be permanent. Many people do not think it is fair that certain roads in the county have been repaved over and over again while others go untouched. Wilcox Road in Austintown along with others should be declared a disaster area.

Yes, it would be easier for the commissioners to make long range plans if they knew they could count on this money, but when people don’t think they will be included in the long range plans, they tend to vote no. Taxpayers want to be sure that every dollar is spent wisely. If those who are asking for the money keep beating the same old drum, then I’m afraid the only thing they will get is a headache.

JUDY ALCORN

Austintown

Forget party labels

EDITOR:

When did it become more important to be a Democrat or a Republican and follow the party line than to simply be an American and do what was right for the country and the American people?

Lately it seems that if you’re a Democrat you automatically assume everything that originates on the Republican side of the government is evil, and if you’re a Republican you believe that everything that originates by the Democrats is even more evil. Enough is enough.

While the two parties were busy pointing fingers that the other side was to blame for whatever, our jobs were allowed to go overseas, our deficit blew itself way out of proportion, health care skyrocketed along with energy prices, and the government basically became dysfunctional. The American people are tired of our needs being ignored.

It’s time for all elected officials at all levels of government, from townships and villages all the way to the state level and the federal government, to quit worrying about which party line we have to follow and get on with the business of governing this country and taking care of the American people. I’m a taxpayer and a voter, and I demand it.

TOM HALL

Lisbon