Youngstown has a future

Youngstown has a future

As someone who has lived in the city for over 15 years after living in the Bronx for over 40 years I am still amazed about the slanted reporting of crime in the City of Youngstown and the reasons for it.

When we first moved into the city there were over 60 homicides during the first few years. The police and other law enforcement groups, who gave us their help, have done an excellent job, have reduced crime and brought many criminals to justice.

There isn’t any easy answer to this problem and there needs to be a multi-pronged effort involving the families, the schools, the law enforcement agencies, the political leaders and the church leaders and members.

I believe that many people are active in doing their part and that is why the crime has been drastically reduced over the last 15 years. So people need to stop blaming different groups for the problem and work together to continue the effort to change the image of this city.

As a minister who has driven through the city over these years the change is obvious even though it has been slow. Crime is not rampant over the whole city and there are problem areas and also areas of beauty, peace and stability.

There are community groups and churches that are targeting 100 different areas of the city to remove blight and grow gardens to beautify their neighborhoods. The work in the Idora Park neighborhood is an excellent example of this work and what can be done in other areas as well.

The participation of the church is vital and as a Christian I know that believers who live in the city and pray for the city have a powerful impact on the atmosphere and future of Youngstown. The real problem is the sin of the people from the top to the bottom of society. People who lie, cheat, steal and slander others are a major part of the problem. We see this especially in political ads which show the division in the government which flows down to the people.

The Lord loves this city and wants to bring revival, restoration and peace as people repent of their sins and trust in Jesus. He said if His people would humble themselves, confess their sins and pray, that He would hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land. May this be so for the City of Youngstown this coming year!

Leo Feher, Youngstown

Bertram just doesn’t get Jim

While Bertram de Souza re- fers to Jim Traficant as a loser, to me Jim Traficant is a natural born fighter. A natural born fighter is someone who can be knocked down, take many hard blows, and yet have the determination, guts, and strength to get back up on their feet and hold their ground.

As one of his many supporters I personally believe he was innocent of the charges he was convicted of committing and was wrongly imprisoned.

As for Jim Traficant being a loser, I suggest Bertram de Souza put aside his poison pen and spend some time in a think tank. A loser is someone who gives up on themselves and throws away the towel. As long as Jim Traficant continues to believe in himself those of us who believe in him, love him and support him will always live by the words that country singer Tammy Wynette sang so beautifully, “Stand By Your Man.”

Bertram doesn’t really know what makes Jim Traficant the man that he is. Perhaps he never heard the saying, “Some people have fire in their stomachs, while others can’t even strike a match.”

Mary Lou Jurina, Youngstown

Bogus casino is classic Jim

Thanks for the Oct. 30 edit- orial debunking the latest Traficant scam. Nothing kills a stupid idea like a gang of irrefutable facts such as you listed.

The only reason I can imagine for this remorseless felon to continue to promote an idea of no benefit to Jackson Township, or any Indian tribe, is his own desire to profit from public notoriety. It’s classic Traficant; just like his 17 years in Congress during which he would promise to get his best grip and show them they couldn’t do that to us, it demonstrates that his “best grip” fails to grasp reality.

Jim Cartwright, Canfield

Clean up the Courthouse ... really

I recently spent time at our Ma- honing County Courthouse and have to say the place is filthy. There was at least 1/2 inch of dust in the main waiting room, filthy carpets, no vacuuming, and rings around the toilets. We all said we didn’t want to touch anything.

I understand most of the janitors were hired because they were friends of politicians. You can see what they do all day. Some departments want to hire cleaning people outside of the courthouse but were told they couldn’t because of the union.

This is the 100th year of existence for our courthouse. If this is how our tax revenue is utilized, maybe we better think twice when we are asked to renew the levies.

Rosemarie Carson, Youngstown

More taxes, higher wages

Amazing.

Two days after voters OK’d a .85-mill, 5-year renewal levy the CSB, unions are asking for a raise? Do you think that if CSB had included in their campaign slogan, besides the “please vote yes to continue the care and protection of abused, neglected, and dependent children of Mahoning County” and also to give us a raise because we haven’t had one since 2008 that the voters would have passed the levy? I doubt it.

Many folks in Mahoning County haven’t had a raise for a long time. But wait! Many don’t have jobs. How many have lost their homes because they’ve lost their jobs? Mr. Thomas says that “had the levy failed layoffs would have occurred.” Where does it say that CSB should never have layoffs? Join the real world, CSB. These are hard times. Tighten your belts as we all are doing.

Also, the tired old “remain competitive” argument is getting very “tired and old.” We the taxpayers are all taxed out.

Margaret Henning, Youngstown

What’s with changing holidays?

This year my “pumpkinhead” award goes out to Trumbull County and any other area that switched Halloween to Saturday.

I want to know the reasoning behind this? They are probably going to use the excuse kids had to go to school on Monday. I am going to wait until next year to see what these “Einsteins” are going to do with Halloween falling on Monday. My guess is they will move it to Sunday, which it was this year. Maybe we should move Easter to Saturday because some kids go to school on the Monday following Easter.

Halloween should be on Halloween the same day and time so people won’t get bombarded with other districts’ children coming into their hood.

Andy Pappagallo, Mineral Ridge

Who should really get the thanks?

I received a nice glossy post- card from Gov. Strickland giving us senior citizens a $400 real-estate tax reduction.

I would like to thank him for his generosity.

I would also like to thank the poor working stiff who has to pay for it.

Godfrey Anderson, Youngstown