Airport needs attitude that it's first class

8/4/2008

Maybe the problem with Toledo Express Airport is that it has a second-class attitude. If you believe that you are second class that is all you will ever be.

Maybe Toledo Express needs to attract airlines that would make Toledo their hub rather than a feeder airport. Airlines such as Jet Blue, Sun Country, USA3000, ATA, or even AirTran could benefit from making Toledo their hub. Right now, Allegiant Air could expand its operations and offer more direct flights to prime destinations that they already serve but not from Toledo.

When you take into consideration the location of Toledo Express, it should be attracting passengers from Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Attract an airline like JetBlue, market the tri-state area, and just maybe you will pull passengers away from the monster Detroit Metropolitan-Wayne County Airport.

On the other hand, if Toledo Express continues to consider itself a feeder airport, it will continue to fail.

Michael J. Lawrence

Lambertville, Mich.

Always pushing to be first doesn't add up

Entering a store parking lot, I parked my car in the first open spot I saw, far from the doors, saving my car from driving an extra tenth of a mile. I walked through the parking lot and, as I neared the store, I saw a woman finally find her desired parking spot right beside the doors.

Perfectly healthy, she hopped out of her car with a spring in her step and walked quickly to the doors. I heard her mention on her phone that she was going to jog in the park as soon as she finished her errand.

The woman would indeed go to the park as soon as she finished. Once again, she would drive an extra tenth of a mile in order to park as close to the trailhead as possible, perhaps just beating out an elderly, heavyset man who would sigh and park a bit farther away than he would have wished. The woman would smile at her luck and begin her two-mile jog.

Why do we feel the need to drive that extra bit in order to park as close to the doors as possible? Are we really in that much of a rush? Maybe all those tenths of miles fail to add up to much, but is it really worth it?

Douglas Dreier

Maumee

Stereotyping is poor way to stop bad guys

The approach used by police department gang task forces is to round up the innocent in the hope of stumbling across the guilty. That is misguided for several reasons.

Gang laws and the way they are enforced are products of fear, not rational crime fighting. Instead of going after the people who actually commit the crimes, police too often use gang laws to go after people simply for knowing criminals or having a certain clothing style or haircut.

That is not only offensive, it is bad policy and bad policing.

Pursuing the innocent distracts from and makes it harder to find the actual bad guys. Innocent people invariably get caught in the net, making it harder for them to get an education, hold a job, and provide for their families. In addition, they become wary of authorities and distrustful of the system. They are less likely to help police find, arrest, and prosecute actual criminals. The criminals remain free to plague the community.

Every time law enforcement officers arrest, harass, or even stop and question for the wrong reasons, they make more enemies and make our communities less safe.

Targeting people based on where they live, their friends, their clothing, or the color of their skin is not just offensive, it is counterproductive. If we want to bring some comfort to the victims of crime, make our neighborhoods safe, and keep our communities free from fear, we have to have law enforcement that targets based on hard evidence, not group characteristics or stereotypes.

Jeffrey M. Gamso

Legal Director

American Civil Liberties

Union of Ohio

Adams Street

More people today display bad behavior

Where can I secede from this world of insanity? A brave firefighter in Missouri was gunned down while responding to a fire. A lot of people in Norwalk are laid off, possibly permanantly. Some idiots post a video on YouTube of people who were impersonating plainclothes officers acting like bullies and harassing people. Three men have been murdered in Toledo recently. A former hospice employee is indicted for drug theft. It goes on, ad nauseam.

I admit that there are many good things reported also, but the way people behave today makes me happy to be a senior citizen. While I hope to live many, many more years, I sure am happy that I will not be here in 50 years.

While we all have the freedoms granted us by the Constitution, and so bravely defended by our servicemen and women, why do we also think we have the right to abuse those rights? Why don't people have any values or decency? Why don't people have any common sense any more?

When I am at work, I am truly appalled by the behavior of people and I am astounded by what passes for acceptable clothing now. Ladies who are well past their youth come in with parts hanging out and bulging over. Gentlemen, I do not wish to see your butt when you bend over, and I am always afraid your pants are going to fall down.

I guess it really all boils down to: "I can do whatever I want, when I want, and how I want, no matter how it looks to anyone else, because I want to."

My, how far we have come.

Sharon Tobian

Adella Street

Important lessons learned from father

My dad taught me many things. Here are a few of them.

1) Pay yourself first, no matter how little it might be. Pennies add up.

2) Don't buy anything you can't afford, no matter how much you want it. And don't let anyone else determine how much you can afford.

3) Don't ever take an adjustable rate mortgage, especially when interest rates are already low. They have no place to go but up.

Finally, and most importantly:

4) Read the fine print. Ignorance is no excuse. Don't expect the government to bail you out - well, I added that part.

My dad passed away 20 years ago. Dad, I was listening - thank you.

Betsy A. Kenniston

Sylvania

Support moms who choose nature's way

Aug. 1 began Breastfeeding Awareness Month in Ohio. I think many mothers and health-care providers are aware of the many positive health benefits breastfeeding offers babies and mothers. In April, however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Breastfeeding Report Card ranked Ohio 44th in breastfeeding initiation rates at 59.6 percent.

Support is needed from health-care providers, families, and society to encourage more mothers to breastfeed. Many think that by just putting the baby to the breast one can breastfeed. Often this is true, but at other times moms need to know what to look for to help the baby nurse without causing pain. Many breastfeeding classes are offered through local hospitals and books from La Leche League are available at the library to help moms learn how to help their babies nurse effectively.

Breastfeeding is natural, but just as learning to drive requires a driver's education course, breastfeeding can be managed better with more understanding of how our bodies produce milk. The more a mother nurses, the more milk she will produce. If a mother skips or delays many feedings, her supply will decrease. Moms should be encouraged to breastfeed when needed instead of delaying. Give a breastfeeding mother positive words of support. She is giving her baby the best nutrition.

Sharla Cook

Perrysburg

A recent headline in The Blade read, "Traffic deaths fall as gasoline rises," and the accompanying story highlighted some of the statistics. Might I suggest a very probable explanation for this phenomenon?

People are not only reducing their driving distance, they are reducing their speed as well. Why not reduce the speed limit to 60 miles per hour on our highways and save even more gas and lives?

Marilyn Lechman

Glenacres Court