Letters to the editor: Reader asks for Congress to act on voting rights

Newark Advocate

January 22, 2022 at 4:29 AM·7 min read

Congress must act to preserve democracy

One year ago, we witnessed an attack on our country: an insurrection by political extremists at the U.S. Capitol.

A mob of violent rioters defaced the Capitol Building and threatened the lives of the elected officials and staff working there—the core of American democracy. This was a pivotal moment for America and our fundamental promise of free and fair elections.

One year out from that horrible day, Congress has yet to secure the right to vote and the integrity of our elections—while state and county governments are passing laws to make it harder to vote. Hours-long lines and oppressive ID requirements are only the beginning, unless Congress acts.

The Senate must pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act; both bills are essential to the survival of the American experiment. The House of Representatives has already passed them. We can’t let made-up Senate rules stand in the way of protecting our democracy.

Fighting for our democracy by passing voting rights legislation is one of the most important actions we can take as we commemorate this attack on our country.

Justin Philipps, Newark

STRS should examine equal retirement increases

I am a retired Teacher, proud of my thirty-six years of service to the same school district. I gladly paid into State Teachers Retirement system with the promise of a good retirement backed by a solid board of trusted and dedicated fellow members.

I am aware that because of number of years worked and the pay scale of various school districts, there is a vast difference in the amount of pension benefits we all receive. The more paid in, the higher the benefits. The annual COLA really helped those from poorer districts. What I can not understand its why the COLA was always a percentage, 3 percent, then later 2 percent and then nothing because it became too expensive. I do not see the fairness in one member’s 3 percent COLA being $900 and another's be $3.000. We all pay the same gas prices, interest rates and go to the grocery store. Why not explore and equal dollar COLA to all members. This could give much needed assistance to those at the bottom and still be fair to those at the top.

Jack Maybury, Hebron

Don Edwards scoreboard plan a loser

The last Letter to Editor called the existing Scoreboard Plan an “Unmitigated Disaster”

Here’s why-three years in: The City is negative $127,000, the YMCA is negative $62,000 if 2021 scoreboard sales mirror 2020 results and the Don Edwards Park Fund should receive its very first deposit. Former YMCA Sports Director touted this plan to Council as an “opportunity to fund the ballpark for years to come. ”

At contract end in 2028 the City will be negative $225,000, if the YMCA’s first two years average sales remain constant, our YMCA will be negative $142,000 and the Edwards Fund will have an anemic $80,000.

In 2028 if sales average just shy of $35,000 annually our YMCA will break even, but the Fund is limited to $80,000.

In 2028 if sales average $50,000 annually our YMCA will be positive $118,000, but the Fund is limited to $80,000

Noteworthy: The YMCA provided a memo from Director Rhodes waiving the Y’s $20,000 obligation to the Don Edwards Park Fund for 2019 & 2020… the $20,000 was then diverted to help pay for the $368,000 scoreboard. Since Council didn’t approve Rhodes waiver we will be asking legal under what authority the $20,000 was waived.

Kudos to Councilman Marmie for taking time to call me. Doug states he wants what is best for Newark so we hope he will use his 20 years of experience and leadership skills to convene a committee to limit the losses to Don Edwards Park.

Stop the Boondoggle- save Don Edwards Park

Dave Froelich, Newark

Denison voters unlikely to 'blame'

I am writing in response to Matt McGowan’s guest column stating that it is somehow “unfair” for Denison students to vote in Granville. This follows previous articles in the Sentinel in which Mr. McGowan blamed his loss in the November 2021 Granville Village Council election on Denison student voters.

Mr. McGowan asserts, without evidence, that Denison students voting in Granville elections are breaking the law by failing to change their driver licenses or pay local income taxes. Regarding the driver licenses, the salient questions are a) how does Mr. McGowan know this? and b) how many other new residents/voters have not changed their licenses? As for taxes, if Denison students are receiving a paycheck, it is a good bet that their employers are in fact withholding taxes.

Similarly, I find Mr. McGowan’s earlier accusation that student voters were responsible for his election loss to be pure conjecture. The 9 votes required to swing Mr. McGowan’s loss to victory could have come from any of the 3,098 votes he did not receive. The idea that the votes of Denison students – all 13 of them (according to Mr. McGowan) – made the difference is without proof and, more important, is unlikely.

Furthermore, Granville’s overall voter participation in this election was 34%. It would make more sense for Mr. McGown to vent his disappointment with the 66% of registered voters who did not bother to vote.

Interestingly, none of the winning candidates have lodged any complaints about the voting habits of Denison students. Funny, that.

Dan Finkelman, Granville

An encounter with a fawn

This past spring, I saw a doe and her two babies in my front yard. The babies were eating the bird seed off the ground under the bird feeder. The doe was watching from about 30 feet away. Quietly, I went out on my front porch to watch the deer, I was about 15 to 20 feet away. As I step onto the porch, they all looked at me and one of the babies ran over to the doe. The other baby just went back to eating. After a few minutes, I decided to get closer. As I approached, the baby that was eating looked at me and I stopped about 4 feet from this deer. We just looked at each other for a few minutes and then the baby went back to eating. The other fawn and doe were still standing about 30 feet away and the doe was just keeping an eye on me. Do you realize how terrific it was to be that close and have them not be afraid? After several minutes of standing there watching them, I decided to go back into the house and watched them from my living room. Within minutes of being back in the house and doe started to leave and both babies followed her.

During the summer when I was sitting in my yard on a bench under a tree, I saw a beautiful male deer come out of the woods across from me just to stand there and watch me. I could not believe that this deer watching me was the same deer that was eating the bird food months before. He paid no attention to all the traffic, flying up and down the road as he watched me. After a few minutes standing there the deer walked back into the woods. I wonder if I had called him, would he have come over?

The last time he was seen in the yard was the third week of November, my son came home about 10 p.m. He came home and found me in the lower floor of the house, which has very large windows and told me that he saw 2 deer outside those windows looking at me. He also said as he drove up the driveway, they ran away in front of his car into the next yard. So you see animals do have memories!

Caroline L. King, Newark