LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Let NRC make call on what's safe
3/9/2012To jump from dealing with cracks in concrete that essentially have minimal to no impact on safety to accusations of deceit and minimal compliance is a bit much ("Davis-Besse's cracks," editorial, March 1).
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission deals with performance and information issues that are highly regulated and include legal requirements. For you to make engineering judgments about substantive safety issues is more than you are qualified to determine.
Every superfluous safety hoop FirstEnergy has to jump through to satisfy The Blade creates more cost to the company and to consumers. While safety at any cost sounds great, it can mean impossibly costly electricity.
We need to rely on the NRC, which employs real experts, to decide what is important and what is not, and what constitutes a real safety issue.
David VanZandt
Lakewood, Ohio
Editor's Note: The letter writer is a nuclear engineer with an aerospace company not involved with FirstEnergy.
Anti-bullying law needs to go further
Ohio's Jessica Logan Act is a step in the right direction to fight bullying in public schools ("There doesn't have to be another school shooting," op-ed column, March 3). It is important that officials are aware that bullying often occurs via the Web.
I agree with columnist Marilou Johanek that schools' curricula needs to focus on stopping bullying. I do not believe, however, that this will be enough to change some of the heartbreaking outcomes in response to bullying.
The only way school bullying can be stopped is through a zero-tolerance policy. If a student is found bullying another student, immediate and drastic measures should be taken.
Suspension and expulsion are two ways to deal with bullying. They are extreme measures, but they could save lives.
Youngsters will not know the vileness of bullying and the possible terrible outcomes unless they are taught that it is serious, life-threatening behavior. The only way to teach this is through drastic consequences.
Ashley Mierzwiak
Sylvania Township
Sadly, column correct on bullying
I read Ms. Johanek's column many times. As a mother, grandmother, and recently retired middle-school teacher, I felt the same: Not again.
She was right in describing the way students react to safety drills. Students are no more fazed by those than by fire drills. And she was correct in stating that no school is immune to bullying.
Schools need to develop curricula that teach the importance of respect, civility, and compassion. But most schools, if not all, already have preventive programs in place, covering these important characteristics.
In Henry County, where I live and taught, the United Way has sponsored a character-building program for many years in schools. Each month, a trait such as respect, civility, or compassion is discussed, reviewed, and rewarded in each classroom. But there still was bullying among students daily.
Parental guidance and positive examples in the home are also needed. Sometimes parents yell at their children in a disrespectful manner in public, and then watch as they cower in fear or yell back in frustration. Is it any wonder that children treat their peers in the same disrespectful way?
Schools need to use the time that students are in school to teach character traits and lead by example. But parents should remember that they are still the most important influence in their children's lives. We don't want to continue to say: Not again.
Judy Rosebrook
Deshler, Ohio
Laws won't put a stop to bullying
I share Ms. Johanek's anger about rising occurrences of bullying in our schools. But solutions such as anti-bullying laws are like misguided attempts at gun control -- all doomed to failure.
Those who bully others have problems with their self-image and confidence. They seek to take out their frustrations on others whom they perceive as weaker than themselves.
People who have a firm sense of self and of God in their lives have no such problems. We have legislated God out of our schools and have relegated God to less of a role in our lives.
As a result, some people no longer have the spiritual strength to go through life with the needed confidence to see the bully for who he or she really is: a weak, self-centered individual with little moral foundation.
When violent incidents such as what happened in Chardon, Ohio, occur, I wonder whether the children involved are getting the spiritual confidence from their parents and school that a belief in and a fear of God engender.
Paul Wroe
309th Street
Adults need to set a good example
I was shocked beyond belief when I heard about the shooting in Chardon. Ms. Johanek's column focused on "confronting bullying aggressively." While I support her call on schools to teach respect, civility, and compassion, that is not enough.
Schools can include the Character Counts program in the classroom, but they are not the only influences on students. Our culture as a whole does not teach respect, civility, and compassion.
Adults need to resist disparaging those who disagree with us. We need to set good examples for youths. We should remember that we are a community.
We have differences, but we have many things in common, such as hope for the future of our country.
Jo Hollingsworth
Fostoria
Latta's tweet about care act incorrect
The Affordable Care Act created an Independent Payment Advisory Board to implement efficiencies and find other cost savings in Medicare.
According to the White House's Web site, the IPAB is prohibited "from recommending any policies that ration care, raise taxes, increase premiums or cost-sharing, restrict benefits, or modify who is eligible for Medicare."
Yet Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Latta of Bowling Green told people in his Twitter feed that IPAB " 'rations' care to seniors."
We need a law that prohibits members of Congress from using misrepresentations and fear to manipulate and mislead voters.
R.J. Walker
Middleton Township
Romney article, ad jointly amusing
I smiled at the ironic juxtaposition of two items in your March 4 edition.
Directly below an article headlined "Romney argues auto bailout just 'crony capitalism" was a real-estate company's advertisement advising readers on "How to grow $400,000 to $2,000,000."
I wonder whether Mr. Romney knows as much about crony capitalism as the person who has $400,000 to throw down on a real-estate gamble.
Neither has much in common with the majority of citizens who live in what Forbes magazine calls one of the most miserable cities in the nation.
Michael Rice
Willys Parkway
Nike should stop violence over shoes
The violence associated with the sale of specialty Nike shoes should be addressed by the company ("Release of new Nikes sets off frenzies at stores," Feb. 25).
The sale of these items only on Nike's official Web site would prevent unruly behavior by individuals attempting to purchase the shoes. This would also allow everyone to purchase these items at a reasonable price, without fear of threats or injury.
Does Nike care about the safety of a person who shops at a mall or shoe outlet?
Arlene Albright
Hannaford Drive
Welfare recipients need urine tests
I read an Associated Press report about Wyoming lawmakers killing a bill that would have required drug testing for welfare recipients. Shouldn't welfare recipients be required to pass a urine test?
I have to pass a urine test to get a job, through which I pay taxes that help provide their welfare checks. I don't find that requirement demeaning.
David Price
Tulane Avenue