Sunday, March 28, 2010
No reason to protest in good times
A letter from an Austintown writer asks the question, “why no tea party in the Bush years?” In blaming Republicans and tea partiers for not protesting President Bush he must also include Democrats and liberals who also didn’t protest during the Bush years.
Not counting the anti-war protesters, I don’t recall any group organizing and protesting the Bush economic policies. Possible reasons? 1) 4.5 percent unemployment rate. 2) Tax breaks for all those paying taxes. 3) National debt approximately 10 percent of what it is today. 4) Stock market (DOW) at 14,000.
This country was doing pretty well until 2006, then the Democrats took over Congress. Things went downhill rather quickly. President Bush also took office when the economy was struggling, but knew how to get us up and running, and did not blame President Clinton. He just got it done.
This president, despite his promises that he knew how to fix the economy, obviously doesn’t know how. By the way, the Democrats, including Sen. Obama, endorsed and voted for the bank bailouts and all the other reckless spending. They had the numbers to stop the spending.
My question to you: What are people to do if they are totally fed up with and angry with government?
Milan Campbell, Hubbard
Summertime should be fun time
Recently I read a letter about the parks may not be opened in Youngstown this summer. That would be ridiculous.
Many years ago when I was little there were wonderful neighborhood parks. These parks had all kinds of activities planned for us all summer. We never sat around our house with nothing to do and no place to go. We also had our neighborhood Shady Run swimming pool which we walked about three miles to get to on every hot summer day. Then of course there was the Idora Park which was the best place on earth and not expensive to enjoy an entire day of thrills.
These places of recreation kept us active and busy. Now I realize how lucky we were. Summertime fun should not be thing of the past.
Marian Beil, North Lima
It’s time such as these when we can make lasting improvements
Mill Creek Park has been called one of the most outstanding metropolitan parks in the nation.
It’s certainly that, but there’s more involved in what constitutes the park than just the picnic areas, the many miles of fine roads so popular with runners and bicyclists as well as with motorists, the two golf courses, the lakes and trails and Fellows Riverside Gardens.
The number of intricately built stone structures that one can observe in the park is amazing. There are the dams that form the three lakes; the many beautifully formed arched bridges (one inspired by similar edifices in Italy); the towering sloped rock garden; the various roofed picnic pavilions, and of course Pioneer Pavilion and Lanterman’s Mill. There are even chutes with walls and beds of inlaid rock that carry runoff water down to the creek, as well as stone retaining walls and curbs along trails.
It’s not Machu Picchu, but it’s all pretty impressive.
If readily available labor was harnessed years back, including during times of economic distress such as we are now experiencing, to build the roads and hew the many trails and do all this remarkable work with stone at the park, why can’t we engage in more projects of this nature in our area at present?
Do we have to be so focused on call centers, technological incubators, and fancy bars and exercise facilities with banks of treadmills? There is much to be said for promoting, as the French put it, activity “en plein air.”
How about restoring the Girard Lakes area by rebuilding the lower lakes dam and constructing trails through the available land there? The place has been a cipher for years as a community asset, as well as a financial drain to the city.
Pittsburgh and Cleveland are going in for rowing on the Allegheny and Cuyahoga rivers respectively. Could we not do the same here, possibly on Meander Reservoir or Lake Milton?
While I’m not in favor of dredging the entire 30-mile section of the Mahoning River as has been advanced, certainly portions of it could be elevated from eyesore to a more scenic status.
Perhaps the drive and community concern that led to the creation of the Stavich Bike Trail at Lowellville and the recent very impressive upgrade there could be carried over to other area projects.
Surely the current available manpower could be utilized to improve our area, as was done in earlier recessionary times, and lead to the future appreciation of the fine goals that can be achieved.
Robert R. Stanger, Boardman