Excerpts of recent editorials of statewide and national interest from Ohio newspapers:
The Columbus Dispatch, May 26
These are complicated times for girls and boys, and the debate about changes in scouting - as in, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts - is an example.
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Both have been facing headwinds for decades. Kids as well as parents are busier than in past generations. Working parents have trouble finding the time to run and support a robust scout troop, and kids have many other options - time-consuming sports leagues and video games, to name two - competing for their interest.
Cultural conflicts have added to the membership decline for both. Boy Scouts no doubt lost some potential families who were turned off by the group’s former rejection of boys and leaders who are gay. Reversing that policy, in turn, alienated many of group’s conservative and religious supporters.
On May 8, Boy Scouts and the Mormon church jointly announced the end of their century-old partnership as of 2020. That will drain many more members and dollars.
The Girl Scouts organization has come under fire from conservative groups who dislike its progressive and feminist outlook and falsely accuse it of promoting abortion and being affiliated with Planned Parenthood.
All of this makes it far more difficult than it once was to simply offer a chance for boys and girls to experience the outdoors and learn life skills. But it’s still worth doing because many kids can benefit from such a program.
Given that the Boy Scouts, now called Scouts BSA, will have separate troops for boys and girls - as opposed to coed programming - it seems conceivable that the group and Girl Scouts eventually could best serve America’s youth by working together rather than competing.
The histories and cultures are different, and such a transition would take time, but it could be the best way forward for two groups with essentially the same important mission.
Online: https://bit.ly/2IZV4Gx
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(Warren) Tribune Chronicle, May 24
If use of speed cameras really is being adopted in local communities for safety reasons - not for the significant financial gain camera use brings - then why is Liberty Township’s board of trustees adopting policies about ticketing unsuspecting motorists on Interstate 80, and then practically salivating over how to spend the money they are anticipating?
Why did the two newest Liberty trustees, Arnie Clebone and Greg Cizmar, call for the resignation of longtime law director Mark Finamore whose legal opinion was that Ohio law does not allow township police departments authority on interstates, only to replace him with local attorney Cherry Poteet who had opined conversely in speed camera advice for another local township.
Poteet has now offered an opinion that Liberty Township police may ticket speeders on I-80. She says although townships don’t have arresting authority on interstate highways, civil traffic violations sent through the mail do not constitute an arrest. Therefore, let the ticketing begin!
In the first week of doing so, Liberty Township generated $11,678 in fines, township officials said.
An opponent of the idea of policing for profit with use of speed cameras, Trustee Jodi Stoyak said this: “In my opinion, the police force has more important things to do than take pictures of traffic. We have an excellent police force, and they have better things to do than push a button and write a ticket.”
But Clebone, seeing dollar signs, pointed out that neighboring Girard had already generated $1.2 million by using speed cameras on I-80 last year. (We would argue that was $1.2 million sucked from the local economy that could have been spent in local businesses.) Clebone said, however, that Liberty was struggling financially and needed to pursue every opportunity for generating revenue.
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So, now it appears we’ve come full circle with many local communities consistently arguing that the traffic cameras are being used for increased safety measures to now admitting that they are being used to generate revenue in a money grab from unsuspecting motorists, many passing through the township from out of the area.
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It appears to us these trustees have adopted this adage: If you can’t tax your way out of a fiscal difficulty, simply create new fees.
Online: https://bit.ly/2skirV0
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The (Toledo) Blade, May 26
Should citizens of the United States stand during the playing or singing of the national anthem?
Yes, it is a sign of respect.
If the tune does not move you, that’s fine. It is simply a sign of respect.
Should NFL players stand for the anthem at the beginning of games?
Yes, in this case, the act of respect is also part of the job - required by team owners.
As of last week, the owners reaffirmed this rule and reasserted their authority.
Many football fans wonder what took them so long.
Even so, the owners have given the players an out - they can stay in the locker room until the anthem has sounded.
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And why should owners give the players any choice?
Why not simply say: We pay you a great deal of money. We require, as part of the job, while you are on the job, that you stand for the anthem.
The owners might add what a lot of American feel: It’s not a lot to ask.
Sportscasters are in the bad habit of calling professional football players “warriors.” Warriors are people who go to war - laying down their lives for their country; for us.
Standing for the anthem is a tribute to actual warriors.
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But, hey, if some NFL players feel that the gesture of kneeling during the anthem is vital to social justice, let them pay the fines that the league will now impose on them for doing so. Let’s see how many of them do. Their union says kneeling during the anthem is a matter of free speech. And that it is, albeit free speech at the workplace and on the bosses’ time.
Free speech always has a cost. And it is always worth the cost - when the speaker has something to say.
Online: https://bit.ly/2IUPHfP
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The (Canton) Repository, May 24
Music City, USA, stole the show.
League owners at their annual spring meetings Wednesday accepted Nashville’s bid to serve as host for the 2019 NFL Draft. That city, home of the Tennessee Titans, was chosen over a combined bid from Canton and Cleveland to host next year’s draft in Northeast Ohio between the two cities, as well as other bids.
Canton is the only city without an NFL team to be considered to host any part of a draft. Plenty of work went into the bid proposal to host the draft here. That collaboration, between the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Cleveland Browns, Visit Canton and the Cleveland Sports Commission, should become a template for other entities to follow for large projects that will benefit the region - be it Stark County, Cuyahoga County or other areas of Northeast Ohio.
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We saw you, too, Nashville; and we raise you another draft bid in 2020.
There is great potential in hosting the NFL Draft between Cleveland and Canton in 2020. It makes historical sense to host it here. The 100th season of the NFL will kick off in September 2019. The Centennial Celebration, which will happen Sept. 17, 2020 in the only place it can - Canton, Ohio - will take place here. Imagine what might happen in 2020 if Canton is hosting part of the draft in April, an enshrinement celebration in August and a centennial bash in September.
Hotel rooms would be filled three times. Restaurants and bars would be packed.
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Yes, Canton can meet the challenge it faces from Denver, Kansas City and Las Vegas. As one Ohio sports icon said, “In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned. You work for what you have.”
Online: https://bit.ly/2LEsGvD
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