Sales-tax support challenged; Long road ahead for marriage equality; US is MIA on Ebola; Youngstowners are the best!; Farmers appreciated Traficant

Mahoning County sales-tax issue does not deserve support of voters

I choose to differ with the position on the Mahoning County additional/renewal sales tax issue as The Vindicator expressed in its Oct. 16 “Vote Yes” editorial. I disagree from many points of view.

Your position that the tax being solely for public safety is incorrect in that it’s really taking money from the left pocket and putting it in the right pocket. That is, the safety forces are already being paid, and the sales-tax issue is merely earmarking the collections.

I am sure that the sales-tax collections in some years cause a shortfall of revenue; however, I am reluctant to provide help to those who do not attempt to help themselves. I have not read of any implementation of the state auditor’s management advisory letter comments (nor for that matter, have I even seen any report referring to the comments), nor any effort to reduce costs through joint ventures with two of the largest townships in the state, nor any effort to reduce costs through common personnel management of the 50 or 60 departments (fiefdoms) of county government.

You contend that “the days of giving government carte blanche are gone”; however I fail to see how an additional quarter-percent sales tax is anything except that. Also, your contention that we should have “the understanding that [Mahoning County] government will be an open book for any taxpayer to read,” while desirable, is not realistic.

I have previously commented and made suggestions regarding the Mahoning County operations and the sales tax, and while I agree with your position of carefully watching and understanding the expenditures, I think it is more important to urge (require) the county to reduce and control costs through adoption of “best practices” as identified by the state auditors and other management consultants.

I will not support the additional tax at this time based on the foregoing comments.

Gordon Williams, Ellsworth

Youngstown residents are the best

My family and I came down to Youngstown for Chris Yambar’s Lawn Con 5 in early October. I was one of the cartoonists there.

You have one of the best towns we have ever been in. The people we interacted with there were very friendly. We were treated so well by the people at the motel and restaurants.

I hope the residents there truly appreciate what they have.

We also greatly enjoyed your newspaper, The Vindicator. It has a fantastic comics section. Glad to see a newspaper still carrying classics like “Judge Parker” and “Mary Worth”.

Kurt J. Kolka, Gaylord, Mich.

Ohio, US have long way to go to end marriage discrimination

Out of all the rights that people have, one is not making it very far. That issue is same-sex couples are still being denied the right to marry. This issue has halted the American Dream of equality; how can these citizens say they are equal if they are being denied a basic freedom?

Recently in September there had been disputes on whether or not to make same-sex marriage legal in Hawaii, Nevada and Idaho. As a friend to many in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community, it saddens me to know that these upstanding citizens are being denied a basic freedom of human nature. My research has showed me that out of the 50 states, we now have at least 27 that have legalized same-sex marriage and have stopped discrimination against gays.

Even though we have made a large amount of progress in legalizing same-sex marriage in these states, we still have a long way to go. As an example, in Western states they have stopped excluding gays from juries. With this new feat conquered, there are now laws in place to stop discrimination over sexual orientation.

This is only one small thing that we have been able to gain, but it is a start and may help in more upcoming issues such as same-sex marriage. I urge U.S. Sens. Rob Portman, Mark Kirk and Lisa Murkowski to keep supporting the LGBT community and to keep working toward making more states legalize equal marriage. With the help of them and even more people, same-sex couples can obtain the right to marriage equality no matter where they live.

Vanessa Bilas, New Springfield

On spreading Ebola epidemic, US again is missing in action

Our bloated government is in action again with its incompetent fumbling of the “protection of country.” With the word out that there was an Ebola vaccine developed in 1976, one asks the question why hasn’t there been any development of an improved version since then?

Also, what about the nonexistence of procedures to prevent export from the source by closing borders and disallowing travel from the source location?

Then this morning I heard on the radio a great yet simple step to stop Ebola spread at the source area. Since we are supporting multiple hospital ships, maybe take one and locate it properly and dedicate it to the Ebola War and provide a dedicated isolation location to wipe out the source country’s plague as well as protecting civilization from the Ebola equivalent of the “Black Plague.”

I just wish the president and the federal geniuses determined to rule our lives would hear and follow up immediately with a citizen solution for free.

Daniel Victor Bienko, Canfield

Jim Traficant worked hard for interests of local farmers

The news of the passing of Jim Traficant resulted in many area individuals and groups reflecting upon their personal knowledge of this well-known area personality with a unique history. I am among many area farmers and members of various agricultural organizations with a very positive reminder of his service to the citizens of the Mahoning Valley.

When he represented our region in the House of Representatives, his door was always open when local and state farmers visited the Capitol. On specific bills on the floor that related to agriculture, he often made phone calls to area farmers to discuss the possible effect upon their operation.

He listened to our concerns and was a strong proponent of legislative action to support those issues that enable us to successfully grow crops and raise animals. We appreciated that he not only listened to us, but delivered strong, passionate explanations to the other members of the House to present the messages of his constituents.

How ironic that his life was cut short by an accident at his farm that he loved. He will live forever in the hearts of many of us with our fond memories of his bright smile, his friendly greetings when we visited his office and his ability to deliver our messages when he served as our spokesman in his style that we will never forget. He shared and honored our pride in the agricultural profession. He has left a legacy.

Loran W. Brooks, Canfield