Quality care at low cost is provided

2/2/2009

I feel compelled to offer my response to the Jan. 26 article concerning rising day-care costs. I am the child care director of Sylvania Community Services and my child care does offer a unique service to the community.

In these difficult economic times, child care is available as needed by parents who are searching for particular hours of stable child care. Our child care is open 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and we offer care for children ages 4 to 11. We can fill the gap so children can receive quality care with minimal costs and parents can feel comfortable that their child will be cared for in a licensed day-care setting.

We are a pay-as-you-go program that is billed after you use the program and you are only billed for what you use. We do not require a contract. We do require registration and a signature of responsibility for the bill.

As a community partner working with the Sylvania Schools, we encourage parents to give us a call. We are available to help in the uncertain economy. We offer a friendly and loving environment.

Page Rostetter

Child care Director

Sylvania Community Services

The recent complaint in the Readers' Forum about the Lucas County auditor's appraisal methods was misplaced. Any real estate professional would be happy to predict a sale price within $20,000 in this market.

Given the auditor's appeal processes, any dispute is easily resolved. "Inept" was not warranted as a description.

Nick Batt

Holland

I must respond to the Jan. 21 letter in The Blade describing President Obama as the messiah. I am a disciple of Mr. Obama and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I believe that for the first time in many, many years we have a President who will put the needs of the people ahead of the desires of the rich and powerful. After all, our country was founded upon the principle of "government of the people, by the people, and for the people" rather than "of the elite few, by the rich and powerful, and for their cronies." Is this really socialism?

Where have our morals gone when, in the "pursuit of happiness" we feel we have every right to step on and squash others less fortunate or savvy than us, as evidenced by the uncovering of an ever-increasing number of individuals who have bilked thousands of people out of millions of dollars?

We must work together to get our country back on track, and only then may we feel free to pursue our riches.

Stephanie Bluni

Douglas Road

It was troubling to hear President Obama say in his inaugural address that he wants to remake America. Please, Mr. President, we do not need to remake America. We have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which have already made this a remarkable country. Do we have problems? Absolutely. Do we need solutions? Absolutely. If everyone just uses those two documents as their guideposts, solutions are possible.

You also asked us to take responsibility. The vast majority of Americans have already taken responsibility. They are paying their taxes, paying their mortgages taking care of their families, and giving of their time and money to charity.

Mr. President, all we ask is for you to allow us to make the solutions possible. Keep our country safe and we can do the rest. We don't need to "remake" America. We just need to remember what made this country great. We've already seen how government solves things. Historically, throwing money at every problem has proven disastrous. We are a nation of doers. Let us do it.

Helen McWilliams

Sylvania

As our new President was sworn in, the U.S. Navy Band "Sea Chanters" sang our National Anthem to its original arrangement. What a treat it was to hear the music sung the way it was written instead of the many interpretive versions which so many of our contemporary so-called vocalists employ. To me, it's a disgrace to have to listen to fellow Americans literally desecrate this symbol of democracy.

Please, no more eeeeiiiiiyayaya, or whatever it is that these people scream and screech.

George Drewyor

Dunstans Lane

I'm as much for people making a living wage as anyone, but that wage should be as a result of business need, not government mandate.

According to a Blade article, Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop admits most employers pay over that wage. So why do we need legislation setting a living wage? It will only make our area look worse for prospective businesses and once more put northwest Ohio on the map as anti-business.

We need to emphasize bringing jobs to Lucas County before we worry about their pay scale. There is no "living wage" in the unemployment line.

The county commissioners need to be focusing on what they can do to make our area attractive to new businesses and spending their time and money on recruiting new employers or shoring up our economy in any way they can, not on how they can make it even more difficult to hire and employ people in our area.

It doesn't do anyone any good to talk about wages when no one has jobs!

Laurie Gross

President

Gross Electric Co.

Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, in a recent speech and in his State of the City address, described achievements made in the City of Toledo during his tenure. He deserves applause and approbation from all of us for his hard work.

There are two kinds of leaders: transactional and transformative. Transactional CEOs move matters along in a routine fashion, setting modest goals and responding to the needs of their constituents. Transformational leaders make changes to improve lives and fortunes of all about them. Carty is a transformational mayor. George Bernard Shaw said "the reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

Carty has shown us his passion and love for the city and its residents. All of us are better for the efforts he's made on our behalf.

Bruce Douglas

Winter Park, Fla.

A Dec. 27 story in The Blade discussed construction of walls to decrease the noise from truck traffic along the Ohio Turnpike. U.S. 24, between the Fallen Timbers monument and I-475, should also qualify for a sound barrier, according to the Federal Highway Administration standard of about 70 decibels for noise from added truck traffic.

We have a four-lane highway there, with two westbound lanes separated from two eastbound lanes by a very narrow median. This adds to the concentration of noise from traffic. We hope that the Ohio Department of Transportation considers us for a noise barrier.

Frank Johnoff

Maumee

Toledo is millions of dollars in debt. Policemen, firemen, and others cut back, and yet the voters passed [a levy for] COSI, a private, nonprofit organization that has always lost money - ours.

Charlie Parrot

West Lincolnshire Boulevard

While railing against gaming interests in its recent Betting on a bad economy editorial, The Blade stated that voters of Ohio have spoken again and again on this issue. That led me to wonder why The Blade didn t take that same stance with

the COSI initiative this past November.

TED ROUGH

Goddard Road