The Valley should welcome people from war-torn Syria

Opinion: January 8, 2017 at 12:00a.m.

I am responding to the letter of Jan. 1 from Jim Eidel.

I am glad the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown is sponsoring Syrian refugees to come and settle in Youngstown. I only wish there could be more, and we could have done it sooner.

The people who are coming here have been in the immigration pipeline for at least three years and are thoroughly vetted by the U.S. State Department.

When this letter writer uses the expression “these people want to deprive us of our way of life,” does he mean all Syrians? All Muslims? All Arabic people? There are many religions in the Middle East, including Christianity.

What “these people” are looking for is a safe place to live, to work and to raise their families.

All the Western religions (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) teach that you should welcome the stranger.

We are all the children of immigrants and in this area where the population has shrunk, we need the vitality of new immigrants.

I hope the gentleman’s letter is the voice of a tiny minority because I would hate to live in a community that did not welcome people from a war-torn country.

Sue Anzellotti-Ray, Poland

Canfield council member challenges story accuracy

In today’s society, journalism is no longer about the truth; rather, journalism has become a medium in which journalists use exaggeration and embellishment to win over readers and to promote some type of conspiracy theory. Perhaps the journalists are looking for some way to mask their lack of ability or to propel themselves to fame.

On Dec. 10, 2016, Amanda Tonoli wrote a story in The Vindicator titled “Water Bill Conflict Continues” and in BOLD letters the subtitle reads “Council has met more than 6 times”. The article goes on to say “After more than six meetings and $3,300 paid in councilman salaries, the discussion of a $46 late fee will continue at Canfield City Council meetings.” This first paragraph exemplifies the misinformation, distortion, and fabrication that a reporter can use to “spin” a story. On Sept. 21, 2016, council was presented a letter from a Canfield citizen asking that a late fee on his water bill be forgiven.

City Manager Joseph Warino asked city council to give him individual feedback before the next council meeting regarding this issue. On Oct. 5, 2016, (the next council meeting) there was discussion and there was a clear difference of opinion. Council decided to table this request so that some type of policy and procedure language could be drafted to exempt a water-bill late fee or penalty. Council did not meet “more than six meetings” as documented in Amanda Tonoli’s article. The reporter also implies that $3,300 was paid to councilmen for their time related to this discussion.

The facts are that there have been debates in the past about granting leniency for late payments on water bills; however, council must be careful not to set a precedent that would allow citizens the ability to pay their bill whenever they want. There must be some control in the form of a written policy. Council members earn $125 per meeting and do not get reimbursed for expenses, special meetings, benefits (health or ancillary), and/or any other personal time they use to fulfill their duties. The time expended in an actual council meeting on this issue would amount to $20 per member. The point is that if you apportioned a dollar amount to this discussion it would only amount to approximately $100 not $3,300 (based on an actual time in council).

In the past, reporters’ integrity and journalism were measured by the amount of truth that a story uncovered or disclosed. Ms. Tonoli has chosen sensationalism to bring attention to herself and not to the legitimacy of the discussion in question. Canfield citizens are encouraged by council to get involved: attend meetings, read past minutes, ask questions, and use other forms of media to validate information that has been disseminated. If councilmen are to be held accountable for their decisions (which they should), let’s make sure that the information on which we judge them is correct.

John Morvay, Canfield

John Morvay is a member of Canfield City Council.

Ignore self-serving squeals of Y’town BOE members

My Mom had an expression she would use when I, as a child, would exhaust her patience as she tried to explain or demonstrate something beyond my ken that I simply refused to learn. “You’re independent as a pig on ice,” she’d say, comparing my tantrum behavior to a porker on a frozen lake. Pigs, whether left alone or assisted by a human, can’t get traction on ice and constantly fall down squealing while making no progress toward safety ashore. If he knows the expression, I imagine it runs through Krish Mohip’s mind every time he sits down with the Youngstown Board of Education.

Despite Mohip’s lawful appointment to direct the board to solid ground, its members continue to insist on falling on their faces and squealing loudly about a lack of communication.

Yet when offered formal and informal opportunities to communicate, they choose, instead, to squeal about needing a meeting about communicating. If they still received payment for every meeting they called, I suspect they’d want a meeting about meeting, too. Of course, they can also stage a dramatic, attention-garnering, walkout prior to a communication meeting, especially if it has been communicated to them that settling the problems of their own children within the school system is not the paid-for activity taxpayers expect. If their behavior didn’t harm the future of children, this school board could be the basis for a great sitcom.

I hope Mr. Mohip cuts his losses and the irreplaceable lost time for educating the students in Youngstown’s schools by using anything useful that comes from the board and ignoring the self-serving squeals that seem to comprise the majority of their “communications”.

Jim Cartwright, Canfield

Repealing Obamacare would harm Medicare

Medicare is not nearing “bankruptcy” as Paul Ryan and many of his fellow Republicans claim. They use these lies of a crisis to push their agenda. Repealing the Affordable Care Act, as many Republicans are pushing for as well, would greatly impair Medicare’s financial situation.

In fact, the passing of the ACA has strengthened Medicare, keeping it able to pay hospital costs at 100 percent into 2028 and, beyond that, 87 percent would still be covered. Medicare is poised to continue paying physician, outpatient, and prescription-drug costs indefinitely since these benefits can never run short on funds due to the way the program is set up.

Providing vouchers in place of Medicare is not protecting American citizens, to which our representatives should be held accountable. This “coupon care” will force many seniors and people with disabilities into the much more expensive private insurance market. These vouchers will not cover patients’ out-of-pocket expenses, especially when faced with the higher costs of private insurance.

On top of this, Ryan’s plan would raise the eligibility age to 67, double hospital co-payments, increase deductibles, and render more limited coverage. All this would create an undue financial burden on citizens who already live on a fixed income. For many Americans, Medicare is a lifeline keeping them from living in poverty. How do these politicians think the millions of people in this country who depend on the program will survive without it when replaced with a poor, privatized substitute?

Joni Jones, Alliance