LETTERS: Election exposes cancer on Struthers; CCA committed to jobs in Youngstown; Wrong timing, wrong format for Canfield tax issue

Struthers mayor’s race exposes cancer that’s spreading on city

I am a resident and a retired employee who worked in Struthers since 1992. I worked for the last two administrations and retired in 2010 from my job as the Struthers Storm Water Pollution Control manager. I am currently an environmental consultant, and I work with many communities and their mayors and councils.

This week’s mayor’s race is particularly troubling. I have witnessed the past 23 years this city spiral into the mess we as citizens face now, and the real troubling issue is it’s worse than the headlines. It’s a cancer in our city that has been smoldering over 20 years.

The cast of characters (I won’t even call them candidates) are all members of the past circus that is Struthers politics:

Ron Carcelli, as your paper correctly states, was convicted of unlawful interest in a public contract; Dan Thomas was convicted of using a telephone to distribute cocaine; and John Sveda, who served in the same administration as Thomas and is running as an Independent just in case Carcelli wins.

John Sveda is no more an Independent than the man in the moon; look at his record and the board of elections should really investigate his declaration. I publicly challenge the board to investigate his declaration, and if they do they will find Sveda was a strong Democrat his whole life.

The only thing not being discussed is the truth. Thomas says he was involved in the storm water program as an administrative assistant to the mayor; he was the litter control coordinator and had very little to do with storm water and holds no certifications. That was my job. I developed, implemented and managed the storm water services in Struthers. I also served in the same capacities in Lowellville and Campbell.

Ron Carcelli, who has been running for mayor for the past eight years it seems, wants to act like he did no wrong, but I know he did. He had his record expunged.The one thing he needed to do is admit guilt.

My terms are strong, but I feel really passionate about this issue, dealing with many unfortunate souls that made a mistake in their life. Many felons go through life working menial jobs and can never raise themselves up to even apply for a government job, because of these felony charges. Why? Because they are not politically connected to get their records expunged. Many felons have many more talents than Carcelli and Thomas who can only boast of their political achievements working in government positions given by political buddies.

My point is that these two have the audacity to run for office and deny people who did the same as them a chance.

In closing Sveda is probably the worst of the three, because he has denied who he is — a Democrat — just to rig a race with Democrats that will further show the corruption in the Valley.

I might run as a write-in candidate just to let these guys take their shots at me. I welcome it.

Richard DeLuca, Stuthers

Angels’ sale was heavenly success

Angels for Animals would like to thank the entire community and The Vindicator for its support of our 21st annual Garage Sale at the Canfield Fairgrounds this year.

The sale was a huge success and will account for 10 percent of our operating budget this year. This allows us to have more funds available to apply to our low-cost spay and neuter programs.

We hold our sale in the spring because that’s when female cats come into heat and need spaying the most.

We hope to see you all at our 22nd annual sale next year. Thank you again.

Diane Less, Canfield

Less is co-founder of Angels for Animals.

CCA vows to preserve as many jobs as possible at its prison in city

All of us at Corrections Corporation of America would like to take a moment to express our extraordinary pride in our staff members who help operate the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center on Hubbard Road. The entire Youngstown community provides our team with a tremendous amount of support, and we could not be more grateful.

While we are obviously disappointed that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons has chosen not to renew its contract at NEOCC, CCA is working hard to market the facility as a solution to other government partners’ needs.

In the meantime, we will continue to house inmates for the U.S. Marshals Service. It remains our intention to preserve — to the greatest extent possible — the jobs and economic benefits NEOCC provides the Youngstown community. We will provide updates on our efforts as frequently as we can.

Federal, state and local officials and the wider Youngstown community have been ardent backers of CCA during this process. This support is immensely appreciated and shows other potential government partners why Youngstown is a great place to be.

Steven Owen, Nashville, Tenn.

Owen is managing director, communications, for Corrections Corporation of America.

Canfield should delay August vote, seek service levy — not income tax

Canfield City Council has passed an ordinance for a special election requesting an increase in the income tax. The August election will cost over $20,000 while a November ballot would be around $8,000.

The majority of the yearly budget is for the police department. Most retired people in the city do not pay income tax. I suggest that council take the approach that Boardman took a few years ago and put a public safety levy on the November ballot with all tax revenue going to the police. This assures that all citizens in the city contribute to the public safety not just those paying income tax.

The concern about getting new tax revenue in this manner shows council’s ability to spend more money on a doubtful return. Common sense tells me to put a specific item in a normal election, and the voters can decide on their own safety. Prior election history shows turnouts in special elections will be low and not fully represent those most likely to vote in November.

This is not the time to waste taxpayer dollars. This council has made little effort in obtaining the public’s input, but the choice of how and when taxpayer money will be spent in this lost cause has already been decided. Concerned? Call a council member before Tuesday.

Mark Eddy, Canfield

Low turnout for high-quality talk

On April 13, I attended a free lecture at Youngstown State University in DeBartolo Hall titled “First Ladies: Influence and Image” presented by Andy Och known as “The First Ladies Man.” He is a TV and multimedia producer, writer and documentarian. This originally was a TV series on C-SPAN in 2013-2014, which I had viewed on PBS.

My friends and I arrived early so we could be sure of a seat. This was not necessary as only about 15 people took advantage of this very entertaining “show and tell,” and only two seemed to be students.

We were aware of this lecture as it was presented in a very informative article in The Vindicator along with the speaker’s photo.

I was embarrassed for the university and the speaker for the low number of attendees and couldn’t understand why the many American history students weren’t in attendance.

Some coordination should have been made with the History Department in the scheduling of this entertaining and informative lecture so more students could have enjoyed this program that this busy man came here to deliver.

Donna Hammond, Boardman