Community failed to embrace Hathorn’s ‘tough love’ approach

Opinion: May 17, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

I have been following the saga of Connie Hathorn in the news of our Valley. It seems that Dr. Hathorn promotes a system of “tough love.” This is to say, “Look, we want you students to succeed. We want you to graduate and to live a satisfying life. But ... we need your cooperation in this; in fact your cooperation is the most important ingredient toward ensuring your success. Without a desire on your part, this venture will not succeed. We need you to step up to the plate. If you don’t, there will be no runs batted in, no advancing to base and certainly no home runs.”

In September 2010, Hathorn was hired by Youngstown schools as superintendent. It reminds me of a person, myself included, who buys a book on a difficult subject. We put the book on our bookshelf and we say, “All right, I took the first step. I have the book, now I will learn the subject.” It doesn’t work that way.

It can be an excellent book, but we will not learn the subject until we take the book off the shelf and study it. We have to work with the book so that it can help us. If we leave the book on the shelf and claim that we are now better off simply because we have the book, we will be living a lie.

Well, Youngstown schools had the book, and it was Connie Hathorn. The contents of this book included “tough love” and other good lessons. But the board of education, students and parents left the book on the shelf. So, as of June 2015, that excellent book is going to another school.

Let’s hope they will read the book instead of leaving it on the shelf.

As for Youngstown, I hope the school system will hire someone who believes in “tough love,” and that this time his or her message is accepted.

Donald Butler, Warren

Maybe Arkansas school district will respect, appreciate Hathorn

I would like to congratulate Superintendent Connie Hathorn for his accomplishments during his time in the Youngstown public school system. With very little cooperation from the school board and the community, he was still able to make some improvements.

I haven’t seen anything the school board or special-interest organizations (who called for his resignation) have done to improve the system. Talk is cheap.

Until we as a community rally around our young parents to become involved with the schools, we probably will not see much improvement.

I wish Dr. Hathorn the best in his new superintendent’s position in Arkansas. Hopefully, the next community will be more receptive to his ideas.

Olla Tate, Youngstown

An urgent plea for new ideas to fix mess with Ohio’s school funding

It is always interesting to hear the reasoning of the need for school levies: building new educational campuses, operating expenses for buildings and staffing, and keeping up with needs of the students. It is especially interesting to hear the rationalizations for presenting levies multiple times, even when the voters say “No” loud and clear.

No one mentions that funding schools through property-tax levies is unconstitutional in Ohio. Has it dawned on the local, county, or state school officials that voters feel overwhelmed with taxation? Look at your property-tax statement to see the percentage going to the schools is the highest, yet it is not nearly enough.

Definitely a serious problem exists and the old solutions are not working. Maybe the time is right to explore other avenues. Who will step forward?

Patricia Turk, Boardman

Lawrence treasurer appreciates cooperation as tax collections soar

I send much appreciation to the many individuals responsible in making the 2015 Lawrence County Treasurer’s Tax Outreach Program such an incredible success this year.

As I traveled throughout the county these past three months visiting 23 boroughs and townships, I was greeted by courteous and professional employees of which their support, cooperation and kindness are to be commended.

It is with great enthusiasm that I report a total of approximately $568,000 was collected during the 2015 county tax outreach program. Your support and participation is a reflection of the 2015 county tax outreach increase in collections of more than $100,000 this year in comparison to 2014.

This program has been a bridge that has personified county and municipal government working together on behalf of the taxpayers of Lawrence County.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Lawrence County taxpayers who paid their county taxes in such an expedient fashion these past months. Because of your efforts, I am happy to report that approximately $16 million was collected through the month of April garnering an increase in tax collections of approximately $3.6 million compared to this time in 2014.

Innovation coupled with superior customer service will always be evident in your Lawrence County Treasurer’s Office because serving you, the public, is our passion.

Richard L. Rapone, New Castle, Pa.

Rapone is Lawrence County treasurer.

As killings of police increase, it’s time to give officers more respect

How many more police offi- cers must senselessly die at the hands of the lawless before decent, law-abiding people are outraged enough to demand greater respect, protection, justice, and workable solutions to end this horrible situation.

Is killing police officers something to become a favorite sport for the lawless people? I have always been passionate about fairness and justice for all people, and will always believe profiling people on religious beliefs to be hateful, Godless, and wrong.

How blessed I was to be raised by parents who taught me a person’s greatest weapon was their mind and the way they used it. A handshake does more good than a punch, kindness is more powerful than cruelty, and love will overpower hate because God loves all His people.

There are good and bad people in all professions, races, nationalities, and religions. Violence against any of them is not the solution. It just adds to the problem.

To ignorantly put the good people in the same bag with the bad is stupidity at its highest level. As Americans we have been blessed with so much. I suggest we pray for peace and the wisdom to reach nonviolent solutions.

Mary Lou Jurina, Youngstown

Change of heart for meat lover?

The late food writer Josh- ua Ozersky targeted PETA so often and declared his “love” of meat so vociferously, it bordered on protesting too much. Ozersky once promoted his meat-centered food festival with a send-up of a signature PETA naked ad, featuring his own naked body covered only by a crate overflowing with lush veggies – a decidedly mixed message.

Perhaps our constant haranguing about animals used and abused for those steaks and chops touched a nerve. Ozersky’s last Tweet before he died – a retweet of a Dodo article about why “even non-animal lovers should go meat-free” – seemed to indicate that he may have been having a change of heart.

Ozersky didn’t live long enough to come to terms with his meat addiction, which he admitted stemmed from finding “solace” in eating steaks and sausages after the death of his mother. I think he would have found there’s no better balm than living as if every life counts.

Alisa Mullins, Norfolk, Va.

Mullins is a member of The PETA Foundation.