Who are ‘the people’?

Who are ‘the people’?

I have read the recent nega- tive letters of late from the man in Austintown and the Mayor of Sebring, Ohio about the WRTA bus system and these letters appall me.

The man in Austintown says that they have to bail out Youngstown for everything. He cites Mill Creek park as an example. This park is multi-city. It spans not only Youngstown, but parts of Boardman and the park’s administrative offices are on Columbiana-Canfield Road with a Canfield Zip code. They also run Yellow-Creek Park in Struthers. Mill Creek has several programs all over this county and they are worth it. Is this man saying the voters got it wrong when they decided to protect this gem in our county?

This Austintown man also brings up the Youngstown airport as being another example of bailing out Youngstown. If Youngstown is being bailed out, then who are the people taking the flights out of that airport to vacation destinations, because it sure wouldn’t be Youngstowners the way this man depicts us.

This Austintown man also ends his letter by saying, “Let us get back to a government of the people and for the people. Is he saying that the people of Youngstown aren’t people or are somehow excluded? He forgot one main part of that statement, and that being, “by the people.” A government of the people, by the people and for the people.

The people of Mahoning County spoke at the ballot box as they realized that bus service was a necessity for this valley to thrive and grow. They also had the heart and compassion and foresight to see there would be people who would need a ride to the places that provide basic human rights, i.e., hospitals, doctors, groceries, barbers, etc. Not to mention that, “these people,” are their family members and friends, and they couldn’t possibly take them everywhere they needed to go all the time. They opted to put a system in place to help their own remain independent and have a safe, reliable source of transportation.

Mayor John W. Smith of Sebring said he had yet to see a WRTA bus in his city, but a few months ago someone from his city wrote to this paper to say how thankful he or she was for the bus service.

With the cost of gas going up again and everyone, “going green,” riding the bus makes perfect sense to save on energy consumption and money. The buses are fueled with natural gas,with cleaner emissions standards than ever .

Lisa Beth Moore, Youngstown