Letters to the editor: When was sexual abuse not wrong?

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, sprinkles Holy Water during Easter Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington in 2011. Last month, a Pennsylvania grand jury accused Cardinal Wuerl of helping to protect abusive priests when he was Pittsburgh's bishop.

In John Nelson’s article (Aug. 26, “Don’t Kill the Messenger”), he seemed to defend the coverup in the Catholic Church when he cautioned that “We not rush to judge those who tried to deal with the painfully difficult issues of sexual abuse at a time when those issues were not well understood.” I am left wondering exactly when it was that the sexual abuse of children was not understood to be wrong?

TERRI STEPPE

Petersburg

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Check out the lake for yourself

I am encouraging the citizens of Toledo and Northwest Ohio to take a day trip. Take a ferry ride to Put-in-Bay, Ohio. It is a pleasant, relaxing trip — you get to watch the water and the waves as the ferry passes through them. It is the same effect that you get from watching a campfire. As you are headed to the island, look for the green algae. When you get there, rent a golf cart and tour the island. Stop at the state park and look at the lake. Stop at the Ohio State research station and look at the lake. Stop at Perry’s monument and look at the lake from the top of the monument. Walk the docks and and go to the Boardwalk and look at the lake. Enjoy a lobster sandwich and bowl of lobster bisque. Sightsee and buy a T-shirt. On your trip back from the bay, look at the water as the ferry cuts through it.

On your ride home, think of the water in the lake and on the shores. Was it choked with green algae? Is the algae you see something that is normal for lakes at this time of the year? It is your opinion that counts. Every year from now on make this day trip. Your significant other and children will enjoy it. Each year you can compare and decide for yourself if there is an algae bloom. Each time there is a report of algae, you need to ask the experts, “What type of algae is this?” Normal plant algae is nature’s way of feeding fish and part of the food chain of the lake. Without it we would have no fish to catch.

Think of your day trip when you read the reports and condition of Lake Erie. Your opinion of the state of the lake is what matters!

LYNN D. SHERMAN

Perrysburg

Don’t allow use of aquifer

Pioneer Mayor Ed Kidston has resorted to labeling our elected officials socialists for their efforts to protect our water. I personally applaud these women and men for standing up for ALL the citizens in our community and not cowing down to one individual or company.

Mr. Kidston assured the community July 7 in the Bryan Times that we need to chill out and be happy, as what he’s doing is legal, ethical, and moral. He assured us that he was 99% sure that our aquifer could easily handle pumping an additional 10 million gallons of water every day to supply other communities water and could do so for 40 years.

The mayor of Sylvania, Craig Stough, stated in The Blade July 21 that his community is interested in Mr.Kidston’s plan and would form a regional water authority with neighboring communities to the west. He said this plan could be used to promote more economic development (growth) in the region. Note: More development means more water usage.

Now comes Mr. Kidston, as he has changed his earlier plan to pump 10 million gallons per day to as much as 14 million gallons per day. He now believes and is asking the public to believe “there will be water in our county for 1,000 years from now and 1,000 years from 1,000 years.” He wants the community to get on board with his plan as he assures everyone “there are no unknowns as long as it rains — and that’s a fact!”

Mr. Kidston has stated that the residents are opposed to his plan because people in the community opposed to his plan are putting out false information. After reading Mr. Kidston’s claims, the citizens can determine who that might be.

DEBBY DALTON

Bryan