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Firefighters union writes .22 tax letter
To the Editor:
An open letter to the citizens of Van Wert:
This letter is to inform you that it appears the city administration misled our members and the citizens of Van Wert during the recent May 2009 vote regarding the .22 percent income tax amendment. This amendment allowed for the use of two-thirds of the monies generated by this tax to be used to maintain a minimum staffing level of 19 firefighters, this was a minimum staffing number set for operational and safety needs. Currently, our member strength of professional firefighters is 17 (1960s staffing) and it appears the city administration is intending to leave us at this level or lower it even further.
This amendment was intended to ease the burden of some of our cost from the general fund, just like the original capital only .22 income taxes were intended. These separate revenues allow money normally taken out of general fund to be used for other purposes, thus reducing the strain on this fund. The amendment to the .22 income tax was passed with specific wording which now is being debated and possibly twisted to allow the city to use this money for purposes other than the intent for which our local union worked for passage and citizens voted on! Please call Council members and city administration to voice your opinion. If this does change, please accept our apology regarding this amendment. It was not our intent to mislead you in any way!
With the economic downturn, our local members have been open to speaking on items of mutual importance with this current Administration. At the beginning of 2009, we asked to meet with the safety-service director and/or the mayor and on two occasions we were either turned down or they did not show up. Our local has tried to get firm information throughout the year with little success, the information we did obtain changed daily. If you have watched council meetings, read about them online or in the newspapers you see what is occurring between Council members and the city administration. These outbursts and attitudes make it difficult for our local to understand just what their real agendas are, although we understand not every member on City Council is supportive of this type of attitude or behavior.
Union membership has felt over this past year a lack of inclusion, cooperation, facilitation of information and has experienced an attitude of dictating on how to cut items out of our present contract, which were negotiated in good faith. That type of cooperation does not promote a positive outcome. This membership will support operational changes that are not contractual and not detrimental to our safety. We will keep an open ear regarding the rest.
Please be assured this membership will remain steadfast in providing a professional service to the best of our ability regarding fire prevention, fire inspection, fire suppression, EMS services, auto extrication, water rescue, ice rescue, confined space rescue, Hazardous Materials response, and rope rescue. We will continue to operate without any administrative staff or custodial services for which we maintain on our own. We will continue to provide hydrant testing, general maintenance on the response vehicles, hose testing, ground ladder testing and continue to train and remain certified in all that is required to provide you with the best possible service for your money!
Thank You for Support!
Van Wert Professional
Firefighters Local 681
11/20
Businessman decries political disunity
To the Editor:
In the year 1768 the American Revolutionary War patriot John Dickinson wrote “The Liberty Song.” It was in response to the Townsend Act, a new unjust tax foisted upon the American Colonies. The lyrics are mostly forgotten, but two lines have been paraphrased and used repeatedly over the years and still have significance for us today right here in Van Wert.
“Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all,
By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall;”
We have accomplished much by uniting around common causes. Recently, as a united community we passed the Vantage Levy and made the Van Wert City Schools permanent improvement levy permanent. We recognized and supported the need for and value of vocational education. Together we voted aside the absurd notion of having to decide every few years whether or not to fund our public schools.
The time has now come for us to apply the same fortitude and unity to resolve the serious issues that confront our city and county during challenging times. Bickering over personality conflicts, squabbling over petty differences, and elevating egos over the common good must be set aside. There is real work to be done and it can only be done collectively, together, as a team – UNITED.
Attention is paid to politics mostly during election campaigns. However, all the work of politicians is done between elections. That is where we are now and it is incumbent upon our elected and appointed officials to make hard choices and implement difficult changes to get our city and county through hard and difficult times.
Maybe it’s time city and county create joint ventures in the areas of common interest and duplicated services to generate efficiencies to save money and resources. Some examples may already be implemented or impossible to put into action, but surely there exist many subjects to explore and areas to harvest cost-savings from.
If you see one of our officials out and about, tell them how much you appreciate their service and efforts. Then, ask them what they are doing to save our money and resources and how they intend to work together to get us through these times. Oh, and don’t settle for the standard self-serving tripe that’s so often dished up. Insist on real answers to our real problems. Hold their feet to the fire, just as John Dickinson held King George’s feet to the fire in 1768.
These are serious times. We face serious issues. It is time for serious work. Let’s get started – together. “United We Stand, Divided We Fall.”
Andy Czajkowski
Van Wert
via email
11/20
Writer grateful for state Issue 2 support
To the Editor:
To the people of Van Wert County and the state of Ohio:
As you all know, the issue regarding livestock care in Ohio, ballot issue 2, passed very soundly with nearly 64 percent approval. Every county in the state, save one, agreed that Ohioans should oversee the production of safe, abundant, and economical animal products for Ohio and beyond. Thus you have prevented for now a serious threat from the Humane Society of the United States, and other animal rights organizations from outside Ohio, to force their dietary standards upon the people of Ohio, and to drive animal agriculture out of business.
All of Ohio agriculture recognized this blatant and aggressive challenge to their industry, and to the rights and freedoms of Ohio citizens. They banded together and sounded the alarm to you all, and you responded in a very positive way.
We are very grateful to you, the voters of Ohio. The entire agricultural community is grateful. And Stoller Farms of Van Wert, with their employees and families, are grateful for your support. Obviously, we could not have succeeded without you all.
We thank you very much,
Gary Stoller
Stoller Farms Inc.
Van Wert
via email
11/6
Writer opposed to traffic light cameras
To the Editor:
With all of the information available that proves red light cameras do not make intersections safer but actually more dangerous, it is incomprehensible the city administration would pursue the installation of red light cameras in Van Wert. Everyone will agree that drivers that run red lights should be cited and fined, but at what price. Jeopardizing the safety of the people in the community strictly for increased revenue is “not” acceptable. The following items provide only a small part of the overwhelming evidence that red-light cameras make intersections more dangerous.
1. Drivers that are aware of the cameras slam on their brakes when the signal turns yellow, causing a significant increase in rear-end collisions. Drivers not aware of the cameras still run the red lights. This is common sense, right? No increase in safety occurs. Studies confirm that rear-end collisions make up more than 71 percent of the accidents at intersections. California reports a 14.9-percent increase in rear-end crashes, resulting in 24 percent more injuries directly attributed to cameras at intersections. Studies in Florida, Texas, Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina and Ontario all confirm similar results.
2. Violations, if not proven otherwise, will be charged against your driving record and could contribute to the loss of your license and insurance. Insurance rates for drivers may increase with each citation and accident. If enough accidents occur insurance rates of everyone in the community could be raised.
3. With cameras costing $60,000 to $90,000 each, contractors and the city become extremely profit motivated, not safety motivated, and will consider anything to recover their cost and maintain their profits. Red lights have been rigged to change from yellow to red in 3 seconds or less just to increase their profits which in turn causes increased rear-end collisions.
4. The camera system is biased, inaccurate and unreliable. Sprays are available that make license plates more reflective and less readable by photographs. Some state audits show that only a quarter of the license plates photographed are readable. The cameras do not work on people who drive motorcycles or motorbikes because their plates are too small to be read and motor scooters or bicycles since neither requires license plates. Therefore the surveillance cameras discriminate against some vehicles and favor others.
5. The city will face numerous lawsuits when outraged car owners sue the city for improper citations, personal injury and property damage due to the installation of the cameras. Under the constitution, you have the right to confront your accuser (habeas corpus). Since the actual cameras that took the pictures cannot be brought before the court and asked to testify, your constitutional rights have been violated. Courts have acknowledged this right and have dismissed cases for citations brought before them based on camera photos.
6. With the economical motivation so high, where will the violation of driver’s constitutional rights stop? Will the next step be to issue citations for jaywalking across Main Street, seat belt violations, cell phone usage, child restraints, etc.? These cameras are capable of capturing large quantities of visual information that is “totally unrelated” to the matter at hand such as the identity of the drivers and the passengers, the contents of unoccupied seats, faces of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists who were also within sight when the photograph was taken. All of this excess information is irrelevant to the alleged violation, highly personal and a violation of your constitutional rights. None of this information should be stored, disclosed or used for any purpose. It should “never” be entrusted to a contractor or the city that is motivated to make the highest profit from any information they possess.
The installation of a camera system in the city of Van Wert on the “pretext” of increasing the safety of Van Wert citizens is simply not true. The proposal is an expensive money making scheme by he city, the manufacturer’s of the systems and the contractors administering it. As a citizen of Van Wert you should be very concerned at the decrease in your safety and the increased intrusion by any government (city, federal or state) into your lives. Pick up the phone and call the mayor and your council members and let them know that these cameras should not be installed. Tell them that you will participate in an organized effort to keep this action from occurring and will vote against any public official who lacked the common sense to vote for it.
Walt Goudy
Van Wert
via email
11/6
Jeweler says gold buying events a rip-off
To the Editor:
As a jeweler in Van Wert for 14 years I have the privilege to purchase customers’ gold jewelry and offer a good price. I am so disgusted to see misleading advertisements on TV and the most recent one in our local newspaper stating the HUGE gold buying event taking place right here in Van Wert this week. I decided to investigate for myself what this is all about.
took was gold I purchased from a customer for which I paid $95. This "gold refinery" offered me $40 for the exact same items I just paid my customer $95 for. Watch out Van Wert! You are getting ripped off big time by these advertisements/events offering to pay TOP dollar! Also, they stated they will have $2 million to pay out to Van Wert people for their coin, etc., collections. Wow ... $2 Million! We could have some VERY wealthy citizens in Van Wert by the time this "gold refinery" leaves town this Saturday.
Maybe I'm paying too much? No, I am just being an honest business! If it sounds too good to be true, it is (especially in the jewelry industry). People fall into the, as I call it, "numbers game" and all they look at is price. You get what you pay for, especially in jewelry. This refining company does not deserve your gold, which equals your money. Can you tell I am irritated? I just hate seeing people being taken advantage of.
Tim Slusher
Slusher’s Jewelry
Van Wert
via email
10/29
Postal worker opposes Lima plant closing
To the Editor:
Does your zip code start with 458? If it does, then listen well to what I have to say, because your mail service may be about to change in an unprecedented way.
I am writing to voice my opposition to the proposed move of the 458s processing of mail from Lima to Toledo. As a 458 customer and an employee, I can assess the situation from both sides of the spectrum.
An amp study is currently taking place at the Lima plant in an effort to “prove” that this move would save money.
Our farthest 458 office is 134 miles from Toledo one way. It is physically impossible to process their mail in a city that far away and still get it to these towns in time for morning carrier delivery. The farthest office that Lima currently carrier walk sequences is 122 miles from Toledo. Can this mail be processed timely there, using current delivery standards? No. Are we looking at probable delay of our area’s mail? How can spending extra fuel daily to bring the mail back to the Lima area, or having to possibly revamp smaller offices’ docks to accommodate larger trucks, save money? It can’t.
Much consolidation has been done around the country, some with disastrous results. Why close the Lima plant down? Our facility is newer and has room for more mail sorting machines, if need be. No one processes or knows Lima area’s mail better than Lima. Many of us live in the small surrounding towns and cities in the 458 area that we service and are customers of our own service, six days a week, just like you.
Our productivity at Lima is top notch. Our scores have been, through the years, consistently over 90 percent. Lima is in the Cincinnati District of the Allegheny Region. Cincinnati officials have stated numerous times that our productivity scores make their district look good. At times in the past, our automation department’s productivity has even ranked first in the country!
Time is short. We’ve been told that public opinion matters in these decisions. I am urging you to write your local and state representatives and let them know your concerns. Your immediate input to the office that is conducting the amp study is crucial.
Please submit a letter to:
Consumer Affairs Manager, Cincinnati District, 1591 Dalton St., Room 108, Cincinnati, OH 45234-9631.
Remember, when our local processing service is gone, it’s gone.
Patrice Suever
Lima plant employee
10/27