Wage community effort against human trafficking

January 29, 2013

When the Warren City Council approved restrictions on the spas in the city last year, some questioned why they would regulate these ''legal'' businesses. There were and still are those who feel that those regulations and the subsequent raiding of massage parlors mid-year were a waste of time and that these efforts would have been better redirected at the ''real crime'' in the area.While I would agree that more needs to be done to prevent all crime -particularly the violent crime plaguing Warren these days - I don't think that restrictions or closing of the spas was a waste of time or ...

Local group helps women heal

January 25, 2013

January 22 marked the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion in this country. Since that time, there have been an estimated 55 million abortions performed in the United States.We weep, and rightly so, for those children killed in the recent Newtown shooting, but how about those 55 million lives lost from abortions? I have to wonder if our society's loss of respect for life has been part of the cause of the violence in the country. We have become, in the words of Mother Teresa, a ''culture of death.''''He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the ...

Self-protection is the American way

January 22, 2013

In thinking about the recent crimes in our area we must face up to a few uncomfortable facts. One of which is that there will never be enough police to adequately protect citizens or their property.It has always been that way. Even when our Valley prospered and could afford well-staffed police departments it was never enough to provide the type of protection that was necessary. Think back to the early days in the West. Most towns had a sheriff, and if he was lucky he had a deputy. It worked out fine as long as the Dalton gang didn't come calling.Any sizeable threat required the Sheriff ...

Horse crazy after all these years

January 18, 2013

I was horse crazy as a kid. I collected statues of horses, books about horses, stuffed animals that were horses and even had a blanket with a horse head on it. Like many little girls who long for a horse, I never got one. We lived in town, end of dream.As the years went on, I developed other interests but somehow horses were always on my mind. To my delight, when I married, and moved to Brookfield, I discovered that a neighbor was the descendent of one of the founders of a local saddle club.Bonnie Hrybiniak can remember competing in a Brookfield Saddle Club show when she was only 5 years ...

Local politics need to be cleansed

January 15, 2013

Is there something in the water in this area that makes people continue to elect public officials whose transgressions range from the inept to the criminal?Let's visit a few ghosts of politicians past. Jim Traficant is well known throughout the country, and not in a good way. Infamous, not famous, is what he is.Traficant faced charges of racketeering for accepting bribes while sheriff of Mahoning County. He defended himself, claiming he accepted the bribes as part of an undercover operation. He was acquitted.In most places, those charges would have resulted in a retreat from public life. ...

Innocent people losing protection

January 11, 2013

The Sunset Lounge is closed. That is good news, but I have to wonder why it took two murders connected to the club to finally accomplish this, and why the closing may be just temporary.There have been problems associated with Sunset dating back to its opening in May of last year, including 20 calls for service received by the Warren City Police between May and August .In July, LaShawn Zeigler was found guilty of a probation violation. In 2010, Zeigler was given 5 years probation after pleading guilty to receiving stolen property, tampering with records, falsification, marijuana ...