'Free' identity protection service?

6/29/2007

My personal information was among those lost by the state of Ohio. I have received the state's official notification of such and have enrolled in the one year of identity theft protection offered by the state. People have been quick to congratulate the state and the governor for their quick action on this matter, but there are two errors in the state's actions that should be pointed out.

First, the letter from the state to me and the other victims says that "the state has arranged for identity theft prevention and protection services through Debix to be available at no cost to you." Unless Debix is providing its services for free, then this statement is false. If the state of Ohio is paying for this service, then I and my fellow citizens are paying for this service. Granted, there may be no direct cost to me, but there certainly is indirect cost to all taxpayers.

Second, when enrolling in the identity theft protection service, the icon to click on states that it is a free service for state of Ohio employees. Well, I am not, and have never been, a state of Ohio employee. It is unsettling to see that when enrolling in the "free" identity protection service I had to click on an inaccurate icon in order to enroll.

Stephen S. Keller

Sylvania

The state needs to take responsibility

Am I stupid or what?

Since when did an intern ("intern" being typically a college student learning about a "business" and working gratis) have the go-ahead to take home critical information?

The state of Ohio's total lack of taking responsibility for all of its errors regarding our salary and employer-funded "nest" is appalling.

Nancy Kallile

West Central Avenue

Headline on Afghan story misleading

Many times the news media use words that, while not a lie, mislead you. A recent headline in The Blade stated "U.S. led troops mistakenly fire on Afghan allies, kill 8." This was an Associated Press story so The Blade was not responsible for writing the item. But some people only read the headlines, and that headline was an untruth. The first sentence of the article said the Afghan police mistakenly fired on the U.S. troops, so the U.S. troops fought back.

What would you have done? Our troops just returned what they viewed as hostile fire. It may come from friendly troops but believe me the bullet that hits you definitely is hostile.

I can't blame the Afghan police. It was dark, fear and tension builds, and some get trigger happy. Police are criticized for using stun guns to bring down a person. In combat they don't shoot to stun, they shoot to kill. In World War II we used passwords to help to identify a suspect, which usually worked fairly well, but sometimes you exposed your location and you didn't live to hear the password. The hard fact of combat is that if you don't fire first, you probably won't live to fire. And the saying "he who hesitates is lost" can't be truer than in war.

Today, with highly mechanized war, the password is obsolete. It does seem that with all the technical devices, some method could be devised to identify friendly troops.

Give our troops a break! They are having a tough time of it without the news media painting them as the bad guys.

Robert Greek

Montpelier, Ohio

Two mega-dairies in Sandusky County?

Does Sandusky County want two mega-dairy operations? Will it improve the quality of life for those living near these 2,000 dairy cows? Will six ponds containing 30 million gallons of liquid manure, located in a very limited area, affect water quality? The councils of Woodville and Gibsonburg have passed resolutions opposing these large dairy operations.

Have the Sandusky County Commissioners publicly indicated their position concerning the location of these two mega- dairy operations in Sandusky County? Are not county commissioners elected to represent all the people in the county?

The June 6 Fremont News Messenger stated that, according to documents filed in the Sandusky County Auditors office, on May 30 the New Ijsselstein Dairy Leasing LLC paid $462,500 for about 75 acres of land near Sandusky Road 32 in Woodville Township. The land was purchased from Black Swamp Holdings, a company managed by Sandusky County Commissioner Dan Lisakai. This transaction was legal according to Ohio law. What do our other two county commissioners, Terry Thatcher and Brad Smith, have to say about these two mega-dairies possibly being approved by the Ohio Department of Agriculture?

Ask our present county commissioners their position on these vital issues. What will happen in future years? Could it ever have problems like the "Buckeye Egg" facility did for a considerable period of time?

Dwight Wise

Fremont

Air traffic controllers are taken for granted

When you flew last, did you think about how the plane got there? Or did you just sit back in your seat and read a book? Maybe listen to your iPod, or talk to your neighbor? I can tell you what you didn't do. You probably didn't think about the air traffic controller who was guiding your plane to safety.

By now you have probably heard about the issues going on with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Air Traffic Controller Association regarding the forced contract. The FAA says it was agreed upon; NATCA says it was forced. I agree with the latter and will explain why.

I am the wife of an air traffic controller at Toledo Express Airport. Every day, when I see him come home, he is tired and mentally drained. By the fifth day of his work week he is on edge from the stress of his job.

So you think you have stress? Think about trying to watch 20 planes at the same time for two hours, take a short break, and then do it again.

Think about never getting a pay raise when every other government employee gets one.

And let's talk respect. As one of the most challenging jobs there is, they get zero respect from our government for what they do.

When you flew did you think about how many controllers are now working six days a week? They don't have updated equipment, which could break down because it is so old, and the FAA doesn't replace it or see a need for new technology.

Just something to think about the next time you fly. Whatever you do, please don't take for granted the job these men and women are doing.

Sarah eckman

Maumee

Job suggestions for Father Leyland

Having grown up in Perrysburg, I learned that a lot of nostalgia comes with being a resident of old Perrysburg and being a lifelong member of one of its many Christian churches, such as St. Rose de Lima parish. It is sad that the current bishop does not see fit to let Fr. Tom Leyland remain as pastor of his many family and friends who live in the area where they all grew up.

In this world of terrible turmoil we want to cling to our memories and dream that things will somehow go back to better times of less stress than we have now in the world. We want to try somehow to keep families together forever.

But an old tradition in the Catholic Church remains, and I recall this quote that reminds me so much of what Catholic leadership expects of its followers:

Theirs is not to make reply,

Theirs is not to reason why,

Theirs is but to do and die

As for Father Leyland, I have some job suggestions: one, remain in Perrysburg in retirement as counsel to the locals and help out at St. Rose; or two, run for a city council seat and be involved in the community at large, or three, be the chaplain to his famous brother's baseball team, the Detroit Tigers, bringing a little more godliness into professional sports.

Finally, then, just sit back and enjoy the games.

Arlene Lemle Rinaldo

Grantwood Drive

Gov. Ted Strickland states, "I don't really care about who gets credit in the battle of ideas. I care about getting things accomplished."

What a breath of fresh air.

Richard Kolb

Whitehouse