Chillicothe Gazette from Chillicothe, Ohio • 4

Opinion gaznewsnncogannett.com Gllette Your Daily Guide to Lite. Sunday, September 7, 2008 Chillicothe Gazette 4A ftp ffiM mm Rick Szabrak Publisher Mike Throne RESERVED faRl CONGRESS JpM LOBBYIST RENTER General ManagerManaging Editor Chris Balusik Local Desk Editor The Chillicottie Gazette is a consolidation of the Scioto Gazette, established in 1800, the Chillicothe News-Advertiser, established in 1831, and the Chillicothe Ohioan, established in 1938. All contents Copyright 2008 by the Chillicothe Gazette Helping companies to make investment in Ohio George Volnovich U.S. Senator Editorial Help kids get the most out of this school year As our children get back into the school groove, wish them success. Then help them get it.

Some kids seem born to succeed. They come from strong families; they appear to have few obstacles in their way. Even so, they need to know that other adults in the community care. Some kids face daunting odds. Poverty, frequent moves, drug use by parents and other factors hold far too many local youngsters back.

Local safety nets are frayed or missing chunks altogether. These kids, too, need a community that reaches beyond family to neighbors, parents' co-workers, church members and more. Kids who feel valued don't need to deface walls for their kicks. If they're succeeding in school and after school, they won't have time and energy for gangs and petty crime. That makes this a great month for parents and non-parents alike to get acquainted with their neighborhood schools and find out how to help reach this common goal.

Maybe it's as simple as saving soup-can labels or buying scrip for fundraisers. Maybe your school needs reading buddies or youth mentors. Visit an open-school night. Attend a concert. Let a youth group wash your car instead of taking it through the automatic car wash.

Learn the names of the neighborhood children. Hire them to water your flowers or feed the cat while you're away. Find out what activities they're interested in and; ask after them. If we don't pay attention to our community's children, an eager-to-)earn first-grader can become a discouraged third-grader who can't read. A shy fifth-grader may become the to adiuk-egang We can say "that's not my business" and let nhatha who takes time and maes diff'erence for a child.

Statesniqn Journal, Salem, Ore. '''-'i Lowering the drinking age isn't the answer College presidents tend to be cerebral people, and so we have no problem with about 120 of them suggesting that there be a dialogue or a debate over whether the national drinking age should be reduced from 21 to 18. Debate is a good thing. But our gut tells us giving teenagers legal access to alcohol Isn't the best way of addressing the problem that most concerns the university presidents binge drinking and other forms of alcohol abuse. Before Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Act of 1984, the drinking age varied from state to state.

The act tied a states receipt of highway funds to its drinking-age law, and states fell into line quickly, adopting the 21 -year limit. That, the college presidents, say, has encouraged a "culture of dangerous, clandestine binge-drinking" and has caused students to make ethical compromises when choosing to use fake IDs. At the same time, however, Students Against Drunken Driving, using National Highway Traffic Safety statistics, claim that as bad as the highway toll is today due to drunken drivers, hundreds more would die each year if the drinking age were lowered. Is lowering the age for legal drinking by three years the answer? Not necessarily, probably not even likely. But let the debate begin.

The (Youngstown) Vindicator power and coal-to-liquids technology. Intellectual Property Rights: I have joined Sens. Specter, Leahy and Bayh to introduce comprehensive intellectual property (IP) enforcement legislation that treats IP theft with the seriousness it demands by offering a focused, aggressive solution to stop counterfeiting. Our bill would preserve jobs and protect the health and safety of American citizens by increasing IP enforcement through improved coordination among the federal and state agencies charged with IP protection and making permanent many of the President's current initiatives to combat IP theft. Work force Development: This year, I introduced legislation aimed at making it easier for states to develop regional work force development and economic development programs that meet the needs of the workers and employers.

The Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Act of 2008 will help states attract and retain businesses and jobs by helping to ensure the state can leverage its federal workforce dollars with federal development dollars. This will help ensure Ohio has a well-qualified and well-trained work force that meets regional employers' needs. I am very concerned about our country and the ability of our businesses to compete in a global economy. I will continue to work hard to build an infrastructure of competitiveness so that our businesses can prosper and create jobs for hardworking Ohioans. Ever since I left the governor's office, I have watched thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs leave our great state and leave families in crisis.

And I have been trying to figure out new ways in Washington to help our state officials reverse that trend. Recently, we got a big win signed into law for Ohio businesses but our work can't stop there. A few weeks ago, President Bush signed into law an amendment I authored that promises to help struggling businesses make new investments, expand operations and create jobs. The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 included my amendment to provide tax relief to the very companies that are hurting the most in Ohio. It allows companies operating at a loss the option of claiming their accumulated alternative minimum tax (AMT) and research and development tax credits if they use the funds to make new capital investments and create new jobs.

But time is running out this provision expires at the end of 2008, I hope every eligible company takes this is a big win indeed, our anfcptirtuing even more initiatives to improve the competitiveness of U.S. and Ohio businesses: i Corporate Tax Reform: I recently introduced a bill, the Manufacturing, Assembling, Development, and Export in the USA Tax Act or MADE in the USA Tax Act to provide tax relief to domestic corporations and small businesses. Letters to the Editor Wake up, America! In case you missed it, Dennis Kucinich made a speech during the Democratic National Convention. The message was simple and straightforward, which is the kind of man Kucinich is. The essence of his message was this: "Wake up America!" I'm sure you were probably busy doing something really important, like watching "Survivor" or something.

Do yourself a favor and watch the speech on YouTube. If you are not a registered voter, register now. If you are a registered voter, I hope you will take the time to make an informed decision before you go to the polls in November. I am an Independent voter and make my choices based on the best person for the job. My dream would be to have candidates such as Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul and Bob Ban-have an equal opportunity to be heard during the election process.

Since they do not grab headlines, the media chooses to ignore them. This is not the way leaders should be chosen, but it's the system we have, so we must make the best of it. Don't use this as an excuse to remove yourself from the political process. Politics is not always the most exciting thing in the world. It takes time to do research and examine voting records.

Think of it this way how many employers do background checks before they hire individuals? We are hiring the leader of the free world. Isn't it worth an hour a week to do some digging? You've all heard the spin on both candidates. John McCain has seven houses. Barack Obama doesn't put his hand over his heart during the national anthem. The misinformation and lies about Obama are endless.

One of my favorites is the Internet lie saying Obama is the anti-Christ and was sworn into the Senate with his hand on the Quran instead of the Bible. The next time you are at a sporting event look around. How many people have their hands over their hearts? How severely do' you judge them for this? Wake up America! I don't care how many houses John McCain has or where Barack Obama has his hands during the national anthem. I care about the issues facing this nation and the world. The war in Iraq, unemployment, recession, women's rights, homosexual rights, discrimination, education, health care, energy policies, global warming.

Where do the candidates stand on these issues? How have they voted on these issues? What kind of character and moral fiber do they have? These are the things we should be investigating, rather than wasting our time looking at' misinformation spread by some unknown Internet source. For once in your life, make a decision based on facts. Don't vote on a candidate because of their race, age, gender or the (D) or (R) beside their name. Choose the candidate you think will try their best to solve the problems mentioned above. Take the time to do the background check.

Wake up, America! Time is running out. This is the most important election in decades. Don't sit on the sidelines. Don't succumb to the "my vote doesn't matter" mentality. If you have children, their future is at stake.

Do you want to make a difference, or do you want to continue to stick your head in the sand and hope it will get better? Wake up America, while you still can. Rogena Hiles Chillicothe The future rests with clean energy Editor, the Gazette: When an oilman and environmentalists agree, you know the momentum for real change is building. Yet that is just what is happening. In Denver recently, Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens and Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope talked about the Pickens Plan, which calls for huge increases in investment and production of wind power and using American natural gas as a transition.

In a recent ad publicizing the plan, Pickens says the current debate over drilling "misses the point." As a Sierra Club member, I concur. The current political emphasis on whether or not to open up more of the coastline to drilling is a distraction, a "head fake." Pickens, who has made billions from oil, believes the Bush administration is wildly exaggerating how much oil can be found offshore and in Alaska. The failed policies of the past won't move us forward. True economic opportunity for all Americans is in clean energy technologies like wind and solar. Even T.

Boone Pickens understands that. The question is, when will our leaders in Washington? John Downing Chillicothe My legislation would eliminate tax breaks that give an advantage to foreign competitors and encourage companies to move jobs overseas, then use the additional revenues to cut taxes on large and small businesses that invest and create jobs in the United States, This would include cutting the corporate tax rate to 28 percent from 35 percent; increasing the domestic activities deduction to 12 percent from 9 percent of qualifying income for corporations and partnerships that are not taxed at the corporate rate; and making perma-, nent the expanded small business ex-' pensing provision enacted in 2003 that expires in 2011. l'v i Energy Independence: I have Co- sponsored multiple pieces of legislation to increase our domestic supply ergy. sources, including oil, coal, nat-f power and other forms of alternative if and renewable energy. I recently introduced an aniend-i ment that would open up the Outer i Continental Shelf to oil and gas exploration and use a portion of the revenues to fund research into alternative energy.

I am also leading the effort to make Ohio a leader in energy production by expanding nuclear Letter to the Editor Community owes a lot to Paints' owner i tanks, frJ Li 4' Gazette file photo Baseball fans in Chillicothe have enjoyed the fruits of Chris Hanners' vision. Snapshot Editor, the Gazette: If Chris Hanners had listened to me back in the early '90s, the Chillicothe Paints would never have happened. But thank goodness he didn't! Instead, this community has benefitted from a huge asset one which has generated a true source of pride, wholesome and affordable family fun, and the perfect example of what indomitable spirit and "can do" attitudes often accomplish. Years ago, I remember sitting in Chris Hanners' living room on a cold winter evening while he and I discussed the details of a new baseball league he wanted to help create and organize. It didn't even have a name at that point, but we now know what it became.

My reaction was cool. It simply would not work with Major League baseball only two hours west and AAA baseball one hour north. Besides that, your main audience would be at one of our ball parks sprinkled around town, watching their own kids playing in Little League, American Legion ball or playing softball themselves. Undaunted, Chris moved ahead, and the rest is history. I have been happily "eating crow" ever since.

His efforts to succeed have not been easy, but challenges are Chris's thing. I doubt even he can tell you the hours, energy and personal money he has spent in making not just the Paints, but the entire league, into the remarkable successes they became. He put together a terrific staff which he gives most of the credit to, but his energy and leadership have been the key ingredients. Senior citizens take a hike Brett Favre will start the 2008. season as the oldest starting quarterback in the NFL The five oldest starters: 25S- 37 "JZ-- 35 His father, Roger, also was a guiding force; managing on the field and working in the front office as well.

No detail was too small for Chris's personal involvement, or an affront to his position as president and owner. I've seen him with paint brush in hand helping spruce up the club houses with a fresh coat or two, or driving nails to build new player stalls. Sweat equity was never beneath him. I saw the disappointment and hurt when the personal attacks and public furor swelled against his new stadium in the park plan, followed by his usual resilience and steadfastness over moving on. In all likelihood, had that vision and forward thinking come to pass, the Paints would still be flourishing in the Frontier League next season.

You will never hear that from Chris; sour grapes he is not. But I am not beyond such a subtle reminder. So in many ways, it's ironic and a shame that his dream for baseball in Chillicothe surpassed itself. The Frontier League did outgrow Chillicothe because Chris was too successful. But he promises the Paints will be resurrected in a new format which the community will embrace.

I have no doubts about that. This community owes an awful lot to Chris Hanners; and thankfully for to him for not listening to me. And when he says you will like what's in store in the future, you have to believe he'll make it happen. So go get 'em once again, Chris. You're the man.

John Herrnstein Chillicothe Maltww Coopei nd Sam Ward, USA TODAY visit E-mail Fax Write The Gazette welcomes your views, Here's how to share what you think with readers: You may drop off letters to the editor at our offices, 50 W. Main St. Gazette's E-mail address for computer users is gaznewsnncoganneft.com. The same rules for mailed letters apply. Opinion page notice Letters to the editor, opinion and editorial columns, and other opinion articles submitted to the Chillicothe Gazette may be published or distributed In print, electronic or other forms.

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