The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page A014

CYMK 2x1x 2x1x POINT OF VIEW An dnow the news ollaboration between WVPX and WKYC will return local newscast to A kron ill anyone watch this time? he news set at WAKC hannel2 3)went dark more than five years ago, andA kron became the second largest city in A merica( behindN ewark without its own network affiliate and daily television newsprogram hat neither enhanced the image nor served its informational interests. oit is welcome news (pun intended )that the buyer of WAKC and killer of the local newscast, WVPX hannel2 collaborate with Gannett ommunications WKYC hannel3 )to resurrect on une 4 a half hour kron based weeknight newscast. henP axsonC ommunications WVPX launches its 6:3 0 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. newscast kron arearesidents will be offered an opportunity to change the viewing habits that helped to kill the previous newscast.

No tenough people watched. hatmade it impossible for an A krontelevision station to charge leveland advertising rates, even though the Akron station was paying levelandprices for other programming arkW illiamson former WAKC news anchor who is now Mayor Do nPlusquellic spokesman calls this atch 23 he hybrid newscast that WKYC will produce for Channel 23 should ease but will not eliminate the financial pressures eople will have to watch as determined by ratings) if the cost of the newscast closet according to WKYC General Manager rookeS pectorsky is to be justified over what Spectorsky promises will be a long hauleffort to make an Akron newscast financially viable. uringI magineA kron :2025 community assessment of where the city is and where it wants to go during the next quarter century, the lacko fa local network television affiliate and newscast was a common lament. hisC hannel 23 and WKYC arrangement falls short of the local affiliate- newscast ideal. (Paxson even moved its operations to Warrensville eights ut it is better than the existing situation and has been facilitated by the City ouncil and the efforts to broaden the media base.

he city delayed giving Paxson a permit for its TV tower in 1999 untilit addressed leaving the city without television news of its own. Paxson did 300 000 for local news and public affairs initiatives. ntilnow that contribution yielded no physical news presence. That had been left to WEWS( hannel5), which has a cooperative relationship with the A kronB eaconJ ournal WJW hannel 8), which operates a news officeand gift shop in Summit Mall and WEAO hannels4 broadcasts the weekly ews ight A kron discussion group. heP axson money will be combined with 200 000contributed by the city andS ummitC ountya sa one timeinfrastructure investment.

hannel 23 plans to build a news studio i nTony roppe reclaimed United uildinga tMain and Market streets. iew the city and county money as a public investment, not unlike that made reluctantly )b yCongress in public radio and public television. It does not entitle Plusquellic or County xecutiveJ amesM arthyto demand news coverage or to complain about it if it happens to be an inconvenience I twould be better if Akron were an attractive local television market. roximityt oCleveland prevents this. hrough this collaboration, however, the city has a second chance to see itself in something other than theshort takes offered by Cleveland stations.

egislators concerned about landfill I want to respond to your March 22 editorial rashtalk clarify my position and role in the Hardy oadL andfillissue I have no quarrel with the parties involved in the proposed expansion of the landfill. Fro ma legislative point of view, there are concerns about Oh i and criteria for siting landfills. The Hardy Road proposal raises several of those concerns. ven the Ohio Environmental Pr o- tection Agency acknowledges that under rules the Hardy Road and fill would not have been located on its current site. Its soil, terrain, proximity to theC uyahogaR iver and contact with the local water table make it geologically unsuitable for a dump.

Inaddition there are several factors in the proposed expansion that Oh i do not allow us to consider. Should Ohio law limit the height of alandfill epro posed mountain of trash will bevisible for miles. Should Ohio law take into account increased truck traffic and the site effect on property values? Should the law address proposed sites that are near national or state parks or forests? hese and many more questions should be considered by the state legislature. est you think we are meddling where we belong ection3734 501 of the Ohio Revised Code requires the ouseand the Senate to review solid waste management in this state annually and to make recommendations and changes where appropriate. While this is done, I am advocating a temporary halt to new permits and modifications to existing permits and have introduced Senate Bill 71 to that end.

It is no surprise that no fewer than 10 legislators from around Ohio have become involved in legislation to change our current landfill permittingprocess As your newspaper reported two week ago i and regulations have set the table for us to be the dumping ground for otherstates tateslike Ne wY ork have required new landfills to be constructed in such a way that itis cheaper to dispose of trash in other states I assure you that unless Ohio makes similarchanges we will be the chief recipient of New York trash in just a few years. inally your editorial suggestedthat as a senator, I should take A kron sinter ests more into account than I previously did as a representative. I agree, and I have Th evast majority ofcalls letters and mails that I have received fromA kron residents throughout the city have expressed grave concerns about this proposed expansion, its effect on the uya hoga iver the national park andpublic health my constituency hasgrown have found that regardless of where people live, there is a shared appreciation for the Cuyahoga Valley and itsr e- sources are concerned that the city is looking for the cheapest possibleo p- tion at the expense of so much more. evinC oughlin tatesenator ,27 thD istrict uyahogaF alls Ta pinto this deal tow has water system documentation to make a purchase rop bydrop dollar by dollar, ummitC ounty and Stow have come to the moment they should seize to settle the issue ofhow much it will cost Stow to regainown ership of its water system. A fter years ofon again again discussions the county has provided tow with court ordereddocumenta tion of its more than $3.1 million invested in recent water towerconstruc tion and waterline improvements.

tow officials and their experts on law and water systems are examining the documentation.A sthey do so, they should keep in mind the recommendations of the court appointedr e- view board. The three memberboard concluded the water system should be returned to Stow for the cost of the county sthree most recent improvement projects. Th a $3.1 million he county assumed thesystem from Stow in 1974 for $1. The city and county have been negotiating, arguing and going to court in the years since their 20 year contract expired. ayorLe eA.

Schaffer unseated incumbent Do nCoughlin in part, on the waterissue chaffer suggested she could settlei t.T his is her chance, but the clock is ticking. If Stow and the county cannot come to terms, other buyers can make offers kron supplies tow swater and wants to buy the lines. That could negate the edge Stow hopes toachieve in negotiating water rates. udgeP atriciaA. Cosgrove whose Summit County Common Pleas ourtthe issue ended up in 1999, has moved the process forward.

for Stow to finish it. This is the deal it has sought a water system at cost. OUR OPINION Parent trap No teveryone is naturally able to raise kids; assistance is crucial ometimes all it takes to mortify a parent is a youngster acting up in public throwing tantrums, being rude, abusive or threatening. Fa i r- ly or not, most people judge a parent by the behavior of his or her children. eassume that like charity, disciplined behavior should begin at home.

hetruth that quite often it and a large part of the problem does not lie withthe child but with parenting that is inadequate indifferent or, sometimes, even criminal in its negligence and abuse. On Wednesday ,13 year oldA aron titti nAkron told police he had shot his father to death while the man slept eboy said he had used the same gun with which his drunken father had threatened him earlier. Fa i- ly friends, neighbors and socialwork ers described a father whose solution to family problems seemed to have been physical abuse and a son who bore the brunt of it. lamingthe violence, profanity and rebelliousness so evident in juvenile crime and delinquency on parents on parents who are themselves barely out of adolescence, on harried single parents or on couples who both work outside the home is easy enough. Sadly too it is frequently justified.

ot so easy, however, is finding creative ways to assist parentswho genuinely want to improve theirskills in dealing with the challenging responsibility of raising children. If anything should convince us ofa desperate need for training in parenting it should be this tragedy of Dennis and Aaron Stitt and the recent spate of children severely injured, sometimes fatally a parent or surrogate had no understanding of or temperament for the sacrifices and carefula t- tention a child requires. It is gratifying to recognize local efforts such as the annualK iwanisVFW arentingF air and the Parent eader ship Training Institute that tryto equip parents with expert information and skills to nurture their own families and children in the community. ore than 1 500 parents attended the 10th annual Kiwanis parenting fair to get pointers on everything from sibling rivalry to a saggres sion efair had started in 1991 with 146 inattendance hisyear than 400 volunteers teamed upto provide expert advice, child care and organizational support for the fair. At St.Pa piscopalC hurchin estA kron the Parent Leadership rainingI nstitute concluded its 20- week course for 12 parent leaders who see voids they can fill for children in the area.

ne graduating parent, forexample plans to start a Readers Theater for children in transitional housing and homeless shelters whose educations suffer from frequent moving. Another hopes to start a program to help families cope with childhood emotional and mental illnesses. A third wishes to start support groups for singleparents he need to educate parents is so much greater than these programs by themselves can meet, but the difference they make benefits not only those who are enriched by the insight and skills but also the larger community. heeringL ute on and up hen the Cleveland Indians shifted their spring training site from ucson Ar i oWinter aven abandoned more than authentic exi can A merican cuisine for plastic, backwater lorida hey also left as good a city as there is in which to while away a arch Th eS onoran esertblossoms Hi Corbett Field crackles with the electricity that only bat finding baseball can generate important enter at the Un i- versity of Arizona becomes even more of a magnet than usual for those who value the countdown that is college tournament basketball and the icon who conducts the McKa esneaker symphony without the aid of a baton. hat was the fringe benefit of Indian springs in Tucson Lute lson hen I first met Lute lson wasn old enough to have silver hair but that stop him.I twas more than 20 years ago.H ewas coaching I owa and had brought his Hawkeyes to the Roundhouse Wichita State Un i- versity sH enryL evittA rena to play the hockers I wrote that night about Ronnie Le s- ter A ll A merica guard hatdidn require much savvy on my part.

(Lester as he often did, had dominated the court.) It certainly wasn the first time some writer had risked using up his lifetime supply of adjectives on ester Th a it was strange that a few days later a note would arrive from ute a thank you note for writing about ester coach to sports columnist, an occurrence, in my experience, as rare as a ale opp comet fly-b y. Ol got me to remembering all the hours I had spent on a basketball court fashioned from what used to be the concrete outdoor dog run of my father veterinary hospital. When my father left private practice to work for the U.S. Department of A griculture he had removed the posts and fencing, erected a NBA worthy goal and turned it over to me and my dreamer friends. We would play until the afternoons melted into suppertime and beyond and the rim grew faint in the glow of a light affixed to the adjacent garage.

veryone who practiced religiously on that court dreamed of playing college basketball. Most of the dreams didn grow (like some of the dream- tmemories of the dreams remained and it struck me, and has stayed with me, how it might have been to play for a man like lson By the time I began writing about the I ndians springs in ucson lson had moved to the University of Arizona and had begun to make its basketball into the special something it is today. go to an occasional March game just to marvel at the atmosphere the ohnW ooden UCLA businesslikepre cision of players such as Steve err those uuuuuuute chants the affection the fans displayed for Bobbi lson Lu and full partner, when she would take up her seat in Section 16. A nyone with the vaguest interest in basketball knows, or will know, that this has been the most heartbreaking, heartwarming season of Lute lson s6 6- year oldlife A person even have to be interested in basketball to understand and to care.I tis enough to know that during the 47 years of their marriage the Olsons became the complementary team that marriages made in heaven were meant to be. uteO lson looks as if he should be working behind a desk in the Oval Office instead of on a folding chair in an arena carries himself with an outer confidence that belies the fact he has never been comfortable in large groups of people he does not know, a reasonable description of the life of a successful (17 successive NCAA tournaments) and famous basketball coach.

Bobbi Olson made the cold arenas and interview rooms warmer. Sh ewent everywhere with ute t-o f-t ngames places like Wichita and ullman Wa eendless social events. takes great comfort if along with Bobbi Olson once told the A rizonaSt a r. easier for him to walk into a room with me uteO lsoni only person who has ever felt that way about his spouse. ecause of the nature of his work and the attention he attracts, it was just so obvious eopleknew regH ansen the Arizona St a sports columnist, used to drop in on the I ndians but anyone could tell he would rather spend the entirety of his Marches with Lute Olson and his basketball team ostly he has had that privilege So Hansen knows Olson well.

eis not a people person. Bobbi i ansen wrote in 1998 after Bobbi lson had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer nyou imagine where be without No one can, especially ute and that is why this weekend will be one filled with bittersweet emotions. Ol team is in its fifth NCAA Final our will play Michigan State tomorrow afternoon in the Hubert H. Humphrey etrodomei nMinneapolis At the beginning of the season, everyone thought Arizona would be a inalF ourteam tso much has happened so much has changed. obbiO lsondied He rcancer went into remission and then returned, more virulent than ever.

On Jan. 1, the day Bobbi lson ,6 a nArizona law took effect that requires HMO to pay for certain experimental cancer treatments.I tcould be called the obbiO lsonlaw fter she asked for support for the proposal, Arizonans flooded Go v.J aneHu with calls urging her to back the legislation. thers will benefit because Bobbi lson was there. She always seemed to be there when Lute or anyone else needed to turn to her. A tamemorial service, Ke former Cleveland avalier spoke on behalf of former Arizona players.H esaid nwe arrived on campus for the first time as young, scared 18 year old kids it was Bobbi who immediately made us aware that we were part of a new family, and that she would take care of us.

She was always there for us when we needed her. nmy father alcolmKe president of American University in eirut ebanon was killed, she immediately picked me up from the dorm, took me to their house and cared for me the next couple of days. I think I left the couch for two days while Bobbi cooked for me, contacted my family and made sure I was obbiO lsonw there tomorrow to make sure Lute and everyone else is OK. Th a ebeen thinking a lot about ute I owe him a note.I suspect a lot of people do. ove is the Beacon Journal chief editorial writer.

He may be reached at 330 996 3744o re- mailed at slove thebeaconjournal com E--MAIL LETTER FAX 330-996-3520 To: Voice of the People Akron Beacon Journal P.O. Box 640 Akron, OH 44309-0640 STEVE LOVE A KRON EACON OURNAL FOUNDED APRIL 15, 1839 C. L. Knight 1867 1933 John S. Knight 1894 1981 John L.

Dotson Jr. Publisher Michael Douglas Associate Editor Janet C. Leach Editor ageA1 riday arch3 0,2001 Coach Olson VOICE OF THE PEOPLE SEND YOUR LETTERS etters should bear the full signature hose that are faxed should also contain signatures. All letters must have the address and daytime telephone number. All letters are subject to editing.

Story 3-30 a14 System AKRE by MTURNER Time 23:59:27 Date Color layer: Black A 14 4X Pg. Date 3-30 a14Topic: 3-30 A14 Keyword 3-30 A14Page 1.