Ohioans should cheer, not jeer, renaming of mountain

Ohioans should cheer, not jeer, renaming of mountain

The protest of many Ohioans at the renaming of what has been called Mount McKinley reinforces our human inclination to presume that if we want something and we have enough power to do so, we can make it ours. To name something that belongs to someone else’s heritage is to say it’s ours now and we can do with it as we will.

President McKinley never set foot in Alaska, never climbed that mountain. Before U.S. dollars bought Alaska from the Russians, it wasn’t “ours.” It wasn’t the Russians’ either. Peoples who had migrated there millennia ago made it their home. They were the “natives.” Among us all, they had and continue to have the best grounded right to name the environment in which they live.

A sad part of “American” history is that we have too little respected the natives of the land in which we now dwell. We Buckeyes drove the native peoples here away, but at least we kept their name for our defining river, using it also to name our state. We can be proud of that and should be pleased to respect the native peoples of Alaska long-standing name for their defining mountain so all people can know its proper name. Doing so is a way to honor and respect the native Alaskan segment of our fellow Americans.

It grounds me to adjust my sense of place and history by calling that far-off peak Mount Denali and knowing that is its proper name. Let’s applaud, not protest.

Father Bernard R. Bonnot, Struthers

Quit wasting time fussing over Denali, bashing Obama

In a recent Vindicator article, I read that U.S. Sen. Rob Portman was slamming President Barack Obama for changing the name of Mount McKinley to Mount Denali. Portman gave a long list of reasons why the Ohio-born Republican president, McKinley, should retain the title for the mountain because of all the good things he accomplished. I do not refute any of that.

What I do disagree with is the amount of time Portman spends slamming our current Democratic president when there are so many more crucial issues for the American people. It is politics, as usual. Why are our politicians spending so much time on petty issues, when our country faces so many larger ones.

Our elected officials should be working tirelessly to try to solve unemployment issues, our environment problems, the decay of our infrastructure, feeding and housing and educating our children, caring for our veterans and our elderly, and so many other issues. I am so tired of politics.

Just think, we have 14 more months of election campaigning. I hope I can stand it.

Marilyn Sniderman, Youngstown

It’s about time for YMHA to pay up and shut up

TThe alarm bells go off at the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority. We have learned that this agency didn’t have the wherewithal to follow up on exemptions for newly developed properties. And, we’re finding out about these tax assessments 21/2 years after the fact? Honestly, when does all of the gross inefficiency in government ever end?

I would remind state Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan that there are currently 112 open tax appeals from the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals before the Ohio Supreme Court. These 112 cases represent individual taxpayers, landlords, small corporations, large corporations, municipalities and school boards, Some purportedly owe tax assessments tantamount to what YMHA now owes to Mahoning County. Most of them have been denied their day before the Board of Tax Appeals or in court for the very reason that the YMHA now cites: “I’m sorry, your Honor, I simply forgot to file that appeal (or exemption).”

Lepore-Hagan states that “It’s [just] the right thing to do.” But, truly, what is the right thing to do here? In the past, the Ohio Department of Taxation has told such entities that your time has come and gone, pay up on your taxes. Hagan-Lepore wants to wipe out a liability through an amnesty program, while so many other entities have been told to “Pay up!”

Let’s ponder her proposal for a second, though. YMHA, through its own negligence or inefficiency, fails to file for the appropriate exemptions. Instead of trying to correct the deficiency over a couple of years, YMHA decides not to engage legal counsel and also decides not to pay its tax liability even though it had a $4 million reserve. In a last plea of desperation, YMHA doesn’t try to engage help from the board of commissioners but tries for some amnesty deal through the General Assembly. Finally, the amnesty deal would deny taxing authorities countless dollars that would go to financially strapped entities in the county.

As an individual taxpayer in this county, I would like to tell the YMHA, “Enough with the dirty politics in Mahoning County. Please pay your taxes just like any of us would have been told already.”

Harry C. Turner III, Youngstown

The Sabbath isn’t Sunday

Bravo to the writer of an Aug. 30 letter for pointing out that a public school board meeting was scheduled for Sunday to accommodate members’ schedules and how the day set for the meeting speaks volumes about priorities for where to be on Sunday morning – “a day of rest and worship.”

I agree with the writer that violence and evil are on the rise while church attendance is down because rest and worship of Jesus are neglected. There is no obedience to God’s commandments because many have never known the Lord or have neglected a close relationship with Him.

But with all due respect to the writer, it is important to say here, for the sake of truth, that the Sabbath is not Sunday, the first day of the week, but Saturday, the seventh day. The seventh day is repeated three times in the commandment, and it’s the only commandment with remember in front of it. It matters. I kindly challenge all my Christian brothers and sisters to research the change of the Sabbath and to find Scripture for the change. The Bible is silent.

Sandy Groza Hrabowy, Liberty