What makes a dad great? Let her count the ways

What makes a dad great? Let her count the ways

While fathers are not all “one size fits all,” they are being honored on their special day today. Fathers are of different ages, races, nationalities and characters.

Fathers who earn their wings are those who provide and support their children.

Wisely they make and spend time with their loved ones. They practice what they preach. Their ears are not ornaments around their faces but instead instruments to hear and listen to what others have to say.

They teach their children right from wrong and stress the importance of making right choices that bring rewards instead of bad consequences.

Fathers live a healthy lifestyle whereby their children can learn from and follow. And wise fathers practice patience knowing the best of children can try a parent’s patience.

Fathers are precious treasures safeguarding the wants, needs and rights of loved ones and others.

To all fathers, enjoy your special day and feel your pride. You’re someone special; you’re a dad!

Mary Lou Jurina, Youngstown

More needed to prevent contamination of water

I saw the recent arti- cle about the Aqua Ohio meeting with the residents of Pine Lake and Evans Lake regarding the “Source water protection plan” for water runoff that goes into the lakes from residents’ property around the lakes.

Fertilizers were mentioned; however, the use of weed-killer products was not. As we see algae is a concern, cancer-causing chemicals also should be a concern. These could be in the water runoff and be in the drinking water of our communities.

These property owners around the lakes should be forbidden to use chemicals that are harmful and cause sickness and cancer. Struthers and Youngstown water has PFAS in the drinking water supply, a very serious problem.

More must be done to protect our drinking water, the water our kids and future generations will drink. Privatized water companies should have never happened; our drinking water is life and should not be made a commodity for profit.

Another issue is the litter in Mahoning County that is out of control. This trash also contaminates our groundwater with chemicals from all the plastic. What happened to littering signs, what happened to “Keep America Beautiful”?

I have to clean up this trash from the ditches around my area, in a very small area on Western Reserve and Beard roads because I have a well and I don’t want my well water to be contaminated by plastic garbage.

I am a concerned citizen; silence is complicity. I am not silent.

Melissa Ricciardi, Poland

Valley must stand united against lone-wolf evildoers

Good grief! Mercy Health facilities in Youngstown and Boardman went on lockdown last week after a threat. It just goes to show you that we are not isolated from this type of violence.

There are many in Youngs-town who say “Things like this could not happen in our community” but gee, yes they do and that means the community must stand even more resolutely against the criminal element and the lone-wolf evildoers in our society.

Many stand against having teachers and other health-care workers armed in our presence. But if this could prevent a tragedy, then we must proceed to ensure our safety to out best ability.

We must support those who teach us, heal us and protect us.

All lives matter.

Jim Eidel, Beaver Township

U.S. fails to protect its infants from SIDS

Last week, I received tragic news that a close friend in Chicago had found his 6-month-old daughter lifeless in her crib. The news made me think that in my 20 years of living in Russia, I had never heard of a case of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. I guess when something is not around, we don’t think about it.

Statistics available on the internet show almost no examples of SIDS in Russia or Japan. This shocked me because the physiology of infants is the same regardless of nationality. So, this begs an inquiry into why the U.S. has nearly seven crib deaths per 1,000 live births.

It seems that since the late 1980s, private research has claimed that SIDS is an environmental poisoning in the crib. Three chemicals used in the manufacture of mattresses – phosphorus, arsenic and antimony – are also used in the preparation of nerve gas.

The research claims that the child’s perspiration creates a fungus that triggers the creation of toxic gas. This is impossible for adults around the crib to smell, see or notice.

Some countries have prohibited the use of these chemicals in mattresses, and/or promote mattress wrapping and other simplistic means of containing problem. These are the countries with the lowest SIDS rate. The U.S. has only permitted mattress manufactures to use substitute chemicals. Really?

Since the above research has not been 100 percent conclusive, mainstream medicine continues to receive funding for research into the causes of this “epidemic.” Corporate manufacturers of both mattresses and chemicals are avoiding liability.

We are a money centric society, so it is no surprise, but it is appalling, that government chooses financial liability and vested interests over protection of the most innocent and helpless of its citizens.

Frank Petruzzi, Youngstown

Congress must continue intently its Trump probe

I feel sorry for Presi- dent Donald Trump. He is being harassed by investigations, but it is all his own fault.

During his campaign, he and members of his staff openly asked for help from the Russians to help him get elected. That is against the law, and it rightfully started an FBI investigation.

I believe he did that because he was stupid and probably ignorant of the law. All he had to do when he discovered his mistake was to apologize. But apology must be against his nature because I have never heard him apologize for anything.

So here we are, without complete resolution, still in the investigation. And until Congress is satisfied that it has all of the facts, which includes the unredacted version of the Robert Mueller investigation report, it has an obligation to continue.

Austin Kuder, Seven Hills