After tragic week in city, open your hearts

After tragic week in city, open your hearts

Dorothy Day House of Youngs-town recently celebrated its 107 Roundtable. We were honored to have as our presenters Skip Barone, Community Kitchen; John Muckridge, Mahoning Valley Rescue Mission; Jessica Anthony, St. Vincent DePaul; and Lisa Klingensmith, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish.

These individuals are the bonus of living in the Mahoning Valley. The generosity, service and compassion they show to the people who come through their doors every day are from the heart; you are part of the family. We love, we laugh, and we cry together.

The city of Youngstown has experienced much tragedy and sorrow in this last week. But remember we are all family in the Mahoning Valley. Open your heart to those who have suffered.

Thank you to all for what you do.

Christine Silvestri, Youngstown

YBI, America Makes are overlooked assets

These are trying and challenging times that we are facing in the Mahoning Valley. Numerous individuals, companies and also communities will be reflecting and planning for the future this Christmas/New Year period.

Economically, there has been a very dark shadow cast over us, but within our Valley we have many outstanding industrial leaders, the state-of-the-art Lords-town Energy Center, and prospering and thriving Vallourec and Arconic to name just three.

Among the greatest assets and engines of growth that generally are overlooked by the public are the Youngstown Business Incubator and America Makes.

Their recent Additive Manufacturing (AM) Innovation Institute MMX 2018 conference held at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown attracted the nation’s leaders in AM from both government and industry.

Prior to the MMX conference, I attended a tour of America Makes that was expertly conducted by Ashley Martof. Since printing my first 3D object on a Stratasys FDM in 2002 at the newly opened Kent State University Trumbull Campus Workforce Development Center, I have watched with keen interest the evolution of this technology.

I see many development parallels between AM and computer-aid-drafting, CAD. I was truly blessed by being selected to be one of the nation’s first trainers of CAD (CADAM) in the early 1980s at Wean United in Warren.

At the time, the newly released CADAM cost well over $90,000.

By the late 1980s, the IBM RT (RISC)-based CAD system I utilized was down to $25,000. Later, the cost of obtaining and maintaining a CAD workstation was reduced to a mere fraction of the above-mentioned prices when I instructed at YSU and the Warren city school system.

At YSU, where I graduated, the guidance of the Jim Zupanic, Emeritus, and Dr. Hazel Marie, chairwoman of Mechanical Engineering Department, was greatly beneficial and appreciated.

George Shay, Braceville

Youngstown is blessed with fine entertainment at very reasonable prices

We just had the most wonderful weekend of entertainment in Youngstown, Ohio.

Friday night (Dec. 7), we attended the “Jazz Nutcracker” at Stambaugh Auditorium. It was fabulous with live music provided by Kent Englehart and the YSU Jazz Ensemble and dancers of the Ballet Western Reserve. It was shorter than the conventional “Nutcracker” and so much fun. The talent of the musicians and dancers is huge.

Saturday night we attended “Mamma Mia” at the Youngstown Playhouse. That was a fabulous show with so much energy the audience was really into it. The musicians and stage performers were very professional and electric.

The price of these two events was extremely reasonable compared with many of the popular concerts today. And all of the local talent was fabulous.

We are so grateful to be able to find this quality of entertainment so near.

Sue Anzellotti and Jim Ray, Poland