Loss of casino issue in this area was a good thing

Loss of casino issue in this area was a good thing

EDITOR:

Regarding “Casino foes overplay their hand,” The Vindicator, last Wednesday, the defeat of the casino amendment to the Ohio Constitution in Columbiana, Mahoning, and Trumbull counties had less to do with the headline on the Bertram de Souza front page column than the rest of the state of Ohio.

This tri-county area is populated with a diverse ethnic and cultural people. Cultural events dot the annual calendar. More than one Italian festival, Greek festivals, Croatian festivals and Afro-American festivals and you can find a festival to attend at anytime of the year. These are working class people, but very smart people. Many who worked in the steel mills, carried mail, worked in grocery stores and the like all had some college courses in their background. They did not let an idle moment slip by.

The importance of manufacturing to the economic well-being of this area will be helped by the defeat of the casino amendment in this area. V&M cannot help but be impressed that the tri-county area did not opt for a “quick fix.” This area has had gambling in the past, albeit illegal, but was with all the manifestations that such activity brings to any community. Legal or illegal gambling is a blight on the community. Las Vegas cannot be pictured as a role model. Just look at Atlantic City and other areas that show otherwise.

The movers and shakers in this area should start working ever harder to assure that V&M builds their blast furnace in the Brier Hill area.

The saga of steel making in the Brier Hill area, where V&M is located, has its roots in the earliest days of steel making. Brier Hill coal in abundance with limestone made for a natural marriage. Brier Hill coal burned hot enough that it did not have to be made into coke to be used to make iron.

LEONARD J. SAINATO

Warren

Teach sex ed right

EDITOR:

I am a student at Youngstown State University and recently hosted two events on campus, one for health care reform, including women’s health care, and another calling for comprehensive sex education in our schools. Students are very interested these topics. We collected 125 signatures on a petition calling for comprehensive, medically-accurate health information for our public schools. A 2008 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that one in four teen-age girls has a sexually-transmitted disease. Abstinence-only programs don’t work and too many students in Ohio and across the country have been kept ignorant of the facts. It’s time for a change. Please consider contacting your state representative and tell him/her to support House Bill 316, Act For Our Children’s Future which would not require sex ed but would require that school districts that teach the subject teach medically-accurate information that could help prevent unintended pregnancies and STDs. We all deserve better.

BASIA TANORI

Youngstown

First, stop abortion

EDITOR:

It’s time for us to wake up. We’ve been sleeping since 1973.

Abortion must end first, before any other form of terrorism ever will.

VIC MAESTRI

Old Forge, Pa.