Anti-fracking group anti-everything

February 19, 2013

I am sure that most know about the recent illegal dumping of waste fracking fluid into the Mahoning River and the concern it caused. State Rep. Robert Hagan, D-Youngstown, was apoplectic over the spill, and the local anti-fracking groups were lighting the tar pots and gathering feathers.When I heard about the dumping I was relieved to see that the various regulatory agencies had been notified, were working on a clean up and were planning on punishing those responsible. The ''Stop Fracking Ohio'' folks were not so easily satisfied.For them, the spill served as vindication of their ...

Come, just for the cookies

February 15, 2013

I was raised in a neighborhood called Parkwood, nestled between the Briar Hill neighborhood of Youngstown and Girard. It was a great place to be a kid in that I was surrounded by immigrant cooks.At 5 o'clock I would stop for supper wherever I was playing. One night I might eat with a Slovak friend, an Irish friend or a Polish friend. Another night I might sit down to supper at an Italian family's table. For dessert I might stop in at a family friend's house who was an excellent Viennese baker.All of these wonderful meals paled by comparison to the fabulous ethnic weddings that were held ...

Participate in local government

February 12, 2013

I was cold and tired, and the last place I wanted to go that Friday night was the mission. I had promised I would be there for their night of testimony, however, and made myself go. I was so glad that I did.The Warren Family Mission's men's and women's programs are faith-based programs to help individuals overcome addiction. Individuals who have been part of these programs told their stories. Parents of a young woman who is close to completing her year at Hannah's House also spoke.To be honest, hope and cynicism battle daily in my heart. When I see the sadness of our world and of our ...

Vote looms for Trumbull County health board seat

February 8, 2013

A couple of months ago, I wrote about the tangled web that the Board of Health has woven with their retaliatory actions against Berry and Deanna Meadows. Recently the web began to unravel a bit when Rebecca Fugitt contradicted her own testimony from the hearing to revoke Berry Meadows' installer's license.During that hearing, Ms. Fugitt, an employee of the Ohio Department of Health, testified that the tanks installed by Mr. Meadows and others floated because of problems with their installation. It should be noted that although other installers had these same tanks float at a time when we ...

Tim Ryan in middle of gun debate

February 5, 2013

Congressman Tim Ryan, who represents all of Trumbull County and some of Portage County, has quite a task before him. The Congressman, a Democrat in a solidly Democratic district, must walk a fine line on the issue of gun control.As a member of the Vienna Fish and Game club, I know that he has the respect of many members as a friend of the Second Amendment. However, he belongs to a party that is rushing headlong into piling on gun restrictions, supposedly in response to the tragic shootings in Connecticut.This poses a quandary for him: Does he go along with the party leadership, which is ...

Once a ham (operator), always a ham

February 1, 2013

Have you ever wanted a hobby that took you all over the world without ever leaving home? Tom Roscoe of Brookfield has just such a hobby.At age 12, Tom and his friend John O'Connor made a small receiver out of one of his mother's cake pans and parts from an old television and began broadcasting. His father then bought him a proper receiver and Tom began studying for his ham radio operator license.A ham radio operator is a person who uses a particular radio to participate in a two-way communication with another ham. This is done on assigned radio frequencies, regulated by the Federal ...