No one is condoning violence

No one is condoning violence

For Bertram de Souza to sug- gest in his column of April 29 that we would condone violence against anyone is offensive. We do not want anyone beaten, robbed, or killed in our city.

Establishments such as Class Act and Jitso’s were deemed a nuisance and closed by the city. The convenience stores are not the only target.

There are many business owners who worked with us to improve their stores and we appreciate that. Organizations like MVOC are staying on top of convenience store issues. Mr. Ali Aldi, owner of Downtown Circle, is offering to help certain owners to comply with regulations, and we are thankful for him. Convenience stores that operate properly, meaning no alcohol or cigarette sales to minors, no loitering, clean, litter free, aesthetically pleasing establishments receive our full support and respect. The war will continue for the stores that refuse to operate under city laws and health standards.

The city of Youngstown has approximately 65,000 citizens. Of those 65,000, approximately 650-700 people are problematic to the neighborhoods. The majority are good law abiding residents who pay their taxes and deserve to live with dignity and respect.

The city of Youngstown has several factors contributing to crime. Noncaring parents, high school drop outs, and unemployment. Millions in tax dollars are being spent in federal, state and city governments, but how many deserving young people get the opportunity to work on these issues?

Mr. de Souza’s infatuation with the mob has left him with amnesia, and he has forgotten how the mob operated. The store owners would have to pay the mob for protection or suffer the consequences. To suggest there was a “heyday” of the Mafia is obscene.

Annie Gillam, Youngstown

The writer is Youngstown’s 1st Ward councilwoman.

Remaining honest is hard work

It is not often that I agree with Bertram de Souza’s comments, but his column, “Corruption in Valley’s genetic code,” is one I believe to be pretty much on the mark. David Betras’ reported actions sounds like he is trying to downplay the problem by saying lots of others are doing the same. Would that make it right? The big problem is that the taxpayers are far from getting their money’s worth.

An example of that was the case in Trumbull County where vendors were charging outrageous fees for everyday products. Several of them said if you wanted to do business with the county, that is what you had to do. To me, that was because there was an expected kickback, at least to their political campaigns.

A huge problem in politics is that it takes a lot of money to run for office. Big money often calls for big political favors from political leaders as well from the office holder. To believe otherwise is pure nonsense.

It is my belief that people would do well to remember a lesson I learned years ago. It is not hard to find an honest person to fill a position of trust. The real problem is to keep them honest once in that position of trust. That is my reason for term limits.

Another problem, I believe, is many people do not seem to understand how they personally contribute to corruption of the political system. I remember giving talks to people about the evil of illegal gambling. I pointed out that profits of such gambling were used by mob members to corrupt their public officials. It was not unusual for some to say they were good moral people, went to church regularly, provided for their family and if they liked to bet with an illegal bookie it could not be that evil.

I do not know if the tolerance for public corruption is a genetic defect of people in this Valley. I do believe it is, at the very least, a deeply ingrained culture trait and is a result of their political bias.

Donald G. Baker, Youngstown

The writer is a former Youngstown police chief.

Abstaining isn’t an option

Last week The Vindicator advised me to “urge the governor not to fill the position” being vacated by the resignation of Judge Robert Douglas from the Youngstown Municipal Court. While the administration of justice in Youngstown may not be seriously harmed by a reduction in the number of judges, I am not inclined to ask the governor to violate the plain language of RC 107.08 that says “The vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the governor.”

It is interesting that The Vindicator is urging a Republican county chairman and Republican governor to do what the local Democrats have failed to do, which is address the issue of Youngstown municipal court judges in the face of declining city population.

The number of judges is set by Ohio law, and our local legislative delegation, especially Messrs. Hagan, Gerberry and Schiavoni, have the responsibility to address the issue.

I support the effort to modernize and simplify our county court system. I urge the bar association to continue its work to bring a plan forward, complete with specific suggestions and a cost analysis. The recent report on court consolidation had 13 recommendations to help achieve that goal, not one of which called for the elimination of a judge in Youngstown. Court statistics suggest that the reduction in the number of Youngstown’s judges may be appropriate as part of an overall plan, but statistics don’t always tell the whole story.

This is a problem that does have a solution. The governor should follow the law, the bar association should complete its work, and our local Democrats in the statehouse should work to create the legislation necessary to implement a comprehensive plan.

If a comprehensive plan is too far down the road, a reduction in judges should be considered only with public input and legislative due process, not with a phone call from me to the governor.

Finally, there is still a question if an election has to be held this November to fill the unexpired term of Judge Douglas. The Youngstown Law Department has suggested that is the proper course, in which case it may be appropriate to skip the appointment since the time would be so short before the election. The Ohio secretary of state is doing research and may find that a person appointed could serve until the term ends in 2013, and filling the vacancy by appointment would be reasonable. A final decision about the appointment process will await the outcome of that research.

Mark E. Munroe, Youngstown

The writer is chairman of the Mahoning County Republican Party.

Ohio shouldn’t become a dump

Why is Ohio injecting over 50 percent of the waste water from the wells of Pennsylvania and West Virginia into waste wells in our state? Why don’t those states keep and dispose of all their own waste water in their own states? What is wrong with Ohio that is allows this to happen? It will only grow in percentage of waste as the industry mushrooms around us and in our own state.

Ohio has been a “waste dump” for garbage and trash from Pennsylvania, New York, and who knows how many other states for years. Don’t we realize this will eventually poison our land, seep into our streams and aquifer?

To top it all off the state of Ohio is about to pass a bill that will allow water to be taken from Lake Erie and other Great Lakes by companies that want water. Just add how much water is needed for each drilling well each day and eventually you can watch your ponds and streams dry up and then the level of water in Lake Erie will drop.

Everyone in Ohio should be alert and up in arms about this new Great Lakes water bill, about the disposal of fracking water in Ohio, the number of wells drilled in Ohio and the amount of garbage that enters our state from other states.

Tish McKelvey, Youngstown