Ohio River Life

What goes on

2009-11-14T16:50:00.005-05:00

Dr. Bob Walker (left) joined Doug Smith for a few tunes Friday night at Coffee Fusion. The primary show came from Doug and his brother Dave, who performed all evening at the coffee shop to an appreciative crowd. I've got to laugh at people who insist that there is nothing to do in East Liverpool. The truth is that there are all kinds of interesting things going on all the time. All you have to do is pay attention. (Photo by Kim Schneider)

Good clean fun

2009-11-13T10:53:00.019-05:00

by M. Stewart

After a year of playing the persecuted Christian beauty queen, Carrie Prejean (left) turns out to be just another made-for-television sleeze. Prejean has admitted to making porn videos and getting breast implants. When asked about the breast implants, she apparently didn't get the implication of un-Christian vanity. Instead, she said only that the Bible doesn't prohibit fake breasts.

Hey, I'm sure it doesn't, just like it doesn't prohibit making sex videos. So Carrie is in the clear with God, and that's all that matters. What do you think the chances are that Carrie Prejean has ever actually read the Bible?

Prejean told Fox's Sean Hannity that she made the sex vids when she was a teenager. Or at least that was the story until she realized that "Miss Teen Slut" was not a crown she wanted to wear at church. The next day she assured her admirers that indeed she was over 18 when she made the vids. Whew! Thank God she corrected herself. Otherwise, what might people think?

Speaking of New Republican Mob former beauty queens, have you heard that Moosehead Sarah has published a book! (What are the chances that Sarah Palin actually wrote a book?) Advance teasers reportedly say that Sarah agreed to do her infamous "I-don't-know-anything-about-anything" interview with Katie Couric only because she felt sorry for Couric and her low ratings.

That makes about as much sense as Carrie Prejean's fake biblical tits, but then who am I to judge?

Earlier this week, The Daily Show's Jon Stewart outed Fox's Sean Hannity, who used fake crowd shots to deliver anti-health-care propaganda on his show. For the record, Hannity claimed it was a mistake, but everyone (with the possible exceptions of Sarah Palin and Carrie Prejean) knows that the only mistake was that he got caught.

I don't watch Fox News on television, but I do see much of the network's comedy on the Internet. I agree with admitted comedian John Stewart's assessment of Fox's true purpose for the ruse -- that is, "the subtle altering of reality to sell a preconceived narrative."

Speaking of Fox, the big cheese himself, Rupert Murdoch, has decided to block Google from his "news" empire. If Murdoch follows through on his threat, no one will be able to reach any Murdoch-owned Web site through Google News or any other news indexing site. Also, Web surfers will have to pay to see Murdoch-owned content if and when they get there.

Excuse me while I think for a half a second. So Murdoch, who admits to never using the Internet, wants to kill off all of his Internet content providers. Does this mean I'll actually have to watch television to get my Fox News comedy fix? That's not fair!

Elsewhere, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele has ordered elective abortion to be removed from services covered by medical insurance offered to RNC employees. So it turns out that while Republicans have been ranting and raving about how God hates abortion and how liberals are nothing more than baby-killing atheist sodomites, the RNC has been funding its own employees' elective abortions.

The good news is that the RNC will continue to fund sex change operations and breast enhancements.

Oral poetry on video

2009-11-11T16:38:00.004-05:00

Eastern Flash reporter Mike Canaday shot some nice video of the last week's Ohio Valley Regional Arts Council poetry reading by Craig Paulenich. Check it out.

My Appalachia (Part 3): The word itself

2009-11-11T09:07:00.011-05:00

by M. Stewart

A couple of years ago I attended a workshop in Kent, Ohio where I sat at a table with several graduate students. It came up in conversation that I had lived in the Roanoke, Virginia area for many years, which led to a discussion of Appalachia.

One of the grad students noted my pronunciation of "Appalachia" with a short "a" in the third syllable and said that the "correct" pronunciation was AppaLAYchia, with a long "a" sound. I responded by saying that no one in southern Appalachia, including the local media, said AppaLAYchia. It's always AppaLAHchia, with a short "a."

Another of the students commented, "The pronunciation is very political. You're making a political statement by saying AppaLAHchia. You are choosing sides."

Realizing that I was with grad students, who typically are convinced that they know everything (after all, I was one once), I decided not to engage them in this discussion. Instead, I told them only that they could say the word any way they wished, that I didn't care.

As for the political aspect of the pronunciation of "Appalachia," I will offer the following from John Alexander Williams' book Appalachia: A History:

"As if the varying boundaries weren't enough, there is no fundamental agreement even about how to pronounce the word 'Appalachia.' Residents of southern and central Appalachia pronounce the term with a short -a- in the stressed third syllable; further north, the same -a- is given a long pronunciation, as in 'Appal-achia.'

"Most of the experts and bureaucrats who came from Washington and elsewhere to fix the region's problems beginning in the 1960s adopted the northern pronunciation, while resident experts favor the southern-- which led to a situation, according to one commentator, wherein 'people who said AppaLAYchia were perceived as outsiders who didn't know what they were talking about but were more than willing to tell people from the mountains what to do and how they should do it.'"

Even the meaning of the word "Appalachia" is controversial. I have read in many sources over the years that "Appalachia" is a Native American word meaning "endless mountains." I've seen this in enough sources to convince me that there is some truth to it. Others claim that "Appalachia" is a word connected to early Spanish explorers in the New World, but the word does not sound the slightest bit Spanish to me.

As for where Appalachia is--more specifically, it's borders--I'll leave that for later discussion.

My Appalachia (Part 2): The Whites of Boone County

2009-11-09T06:53:00.001-05:00

My Appalachia (Part 1)

2009-11-07T07:34:00.011-05:00

by M. Stewart

When Kent State University President Lester Lefton visited East Liverpool last week, he referred to KSU-EL as one of the university's "Appalachian" campuses. Although I'm certain the reference was not meant as derogatory, it prompted me to think about the stigma associated with Appalachia and my own relationship to it.

I was born in East Liverpool in the 1950s and lived here until I left to pursue my education in 1975. During my first 20 years, I don't recall anyone referring to the area as "Appalachia." We were northerners, plain and simple. The people who lived downriver--especially on the West Virginia side--were called "Hoopies," which in common usage meant "hillbilly." Likewise, the place Hoopies lived was called "Hoopie." (Only much later did I discover that the term referred to the manufacture of metal hoops used to bind the wooden barrels in which pottery was transported to market.)

The point is that through entrenched stereotyping and prejudice, Northern Ohio Valley people went out of their way to distance themselves from the Appalachian folk to the south. We were in the center of the mighty northern industrial corridor that stretched from Chicago to New York. We spoke with northern accents, not with the lazy-tongued "Hoopie" twang of poor, uneducated hicks. We had good jobs, clean homes, and nice cars. We were civilized. East Liverpool was a bustling northern town whose work ethic and culture flowed downriver from the great city of Pittsburgh, not upriver from Hoopie.

That's not to say we didn't have Appalachian connections. It seemed like most people had at least some southern mountain cousins. When my family's Kentucky and West Virginia relatives came north for occasional visits, we Yankee-born kids saw them as a band of wild hillbillies, whose crude ways amazed and embarrassed us.

I remember my great Uncle Ed spitting tobacco juice into a coffee can he kept at his feet, drinking beer in front of women and children, and urging all the young girls to sit on his lap. I remember the animal-like table manners and the strange clothes and shoes they all wore. I remember my mother spraying the living-room furniture with Lysol as soon as they packed up and left. I remember the grownups whispering about things that had turned up missing.

When I left home in '75, I moved to the flatlands of northeastern Ohio--specifically, Kent--and then to Boulder, Colorado. I came back east in 1984 to take a teaching position at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (a.k.a. Virginia Tech). Later I accepted a position at nearby Roanoke College. In all, I spent 14 years in Appalachian Virginia.

Just like Ohio and Pennsylvania residents, Virginians have a way of distancing themselves from the surrounding Appalachian mountain states. West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee are where the real hicks live, not Virginia. As in the north, these prejudices are largely constructs of city people attempting to get out from under the Appalachian stigma. The real mountain people don't give a shit, and there are plenty of them in Virginia.

Because I chose to live not in the city but in the mountains, I was somewhat of a hilljack to my more urbane university colleagues. To them, I was a mountain man from Colorado who wore hiking boots to class. These people--most of whom were not native Virginians--made a clear distinction between city and country people and did not embrace Appalachian life, except when it suited their needs. I always get a kick out of urban academics--often Yankees--who romanticize and "study" southern Appalachian culture. To them, growing up poor and ignorant is a gift. Frankly, I don't remember seeing many poor people in Virginia. Ignorant, yes. Poor, no.

Roanoke people use the term "over the mountain" to refer to anywhere outside the urban and suburban valley they inhabit, and few venture over the mountain without trepidation. The mountain people are mostly native farmers mixed with a growing number of educated folks from town who buy land and build expensive, modern homes in the woods. To the mountain natives, I was the latter. To my university colleagues, I was a dusted-off rube not quite up to their sophisticated culture of subtle deception and backstabbing competition.

In contrast, mountain people are generally pleasant, unpretentious, and straightforward, and they tolerate ex-northerners and city folks to whom they gladly sell off parcels of their sloped, wooded land. Steep mountain hollows are considered useless to farmers, except as timber. Some of the old timers think of the urban outsiders who buy their land as chumps who don't know any better. Oftentimes they are right.

The most obvious difference between the two groups is language--specifically, accent. Even though I lived in the rural community of Catawba for 11 years and was far from the only outsider in our happy valley, I was known as "that Yankee feller" at the general store and post office. It's true; I didn't talk like them and neither did my kids, but to me that was a good thing. Like most northerners, I learned early to equate the southern Appalachian accent with ignorance, and I still do.

One thing that surprised me about southern mountain people is how many of them grow and smoke marijuana. For some reason, I naively equated drug use with urban and suburban types. Boy, was I ever wrong. Just like in the days of moonshine and "revenuers," mountain potheads tend to be suspicious of strangers because of their marijuana crops. Stumble onto a pot farmer's property and there's a good chance you'll get shot at or have the dogs set on you. As long as they know you, you're ok, so it's good to be known. There is an unspoken code among the locals, and there are no rats.

I remember going to parties where guys would get drunk, smoke huge amounts of pot, shoot guns at anything, play and sing country music (everyone had a guitar), and then work on each other's cars. Some of them liked to call me "the professor" and were surprised that I knew something about engines. They liked the fact that I didn't put on airs and that I could play their music.

Although I genuinely liked most of my rural Appalachian friends and acquaintances, I was not like them and never aspired to be. I appreciated and participated in their culture without identifying with it, but to be honest, by the time I left southern Appalachia I'd had my fill of rural mountain folk and their ways. Imagine my surprise when I came back to Liverpool and discovered that my hometown had been swallowed up by Appalachia.

[End of part one.]

Restoration

2009-11-06T18:18:00.002-05:00

Here is a beautiful example of building restoration in Lisbon. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Arts Council literary event Thursday

2009-11-04T07:44:00.010-05:00

by M. Stewart
EAST LIVERPOOL -- The Ohio Valley Regional Arts Council presents its first literary event of the season Thursday evening with a poetry reading by Northeastern Ohio poet Craig Paulenich.

The reading begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Brown Room of Kent State East Liverpool's Mary Patterson Building, 213 East Fourth Street downtown. Snacks and refreshments will be served, and the adjacent Mary Patterson Gallery will be open to visitors who have yet to see the current OVRAC exhibit by East Liverpool painter Kam Hayes.

Dr. Paulenich is an associate professor of English at the Kent State Salem Campus and also serves as faculty in the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program. He is the author of two books of poetry and co-editor of Beneath a Single Moon: Buddhism and Contemporary American Poetry. Paulenich will read and discuss poems from his latest collection, Blood Will Tell, published by BlazeVOX books.

Everyone is welcome to this free event. The atmosphere at OVRAC events is never stuffy and formal, so come as you are and enjoy some local culture. Craig Paulenich is a KSU English Department colleague of mine, and I can assure you that his presentation will be lively and interesting.

Copies of Blood Will Tell will be available for purchase.

Ohio is for gamblers

2009-11-04T07:23:00.000-05:00

by M. Stewart

By a margin of approximately 200,000 votes, Ohio has become the thirteenth state to allow gambling casinos, at least in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo.

I don't know how many people from Cleveland and Columbus come to Mountaineer Casino to throw away their money, but now they can stay home and do it. Let's face it, folks, gambling provides significant revenue to the states that allow it, and given our state's dismal revenue picture, the money will be welcome.

As far as I'm concerned, the best taxes are voluntary, and gambling certainly falls into that category. Although I supported the ballot issue, I think of going to a casino as a low-class activity that decent people should avoid. I went to a wedding reception at Mountaineer recently, and watching all the seedy gamblers made me sick.

I guess I just don't understand the high people get out of throwing good money after bad. Doesn't everyone know that gambling casinos are rigged against them? All casino operators know that any money they pay out they get back. Surely all but the most ignorant gamblers know this as well. So what's the attraction? I hope someone can tell us.

In the end it doesn't matter why people gamble at casinos. We know that they do, and there's no reason why our state shouldn't benefit from the tax revenue it provides.

Moving to Windows 7

2009-11-03T14:53:00.010-05:00

by M. Stewart

Over the weekend I upgraded my two home computers to the new Windows 7 operating system. The upgrades were successful but not as simple as Microsoft would lead you to believe. Still, Windows 7 is worth the trouble.

First of all, I discovered that you can't do a standard upgrade if you're moving from a lower-end Vista Home Premium to a higher-end Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate. I refer to a "standard upgrade" as one that leaves your current files and programs intact.

You can, however, do a fresh install. As such, I installed Win7 Pro on my laptop that previously ran Vista Homer Premium, but I had to reload all programs and files. There were no problems I couldn't solve with drivers or programs, and everything went fairly smoothly.

My 64-bit desktop posed different problems. Having learned from the laptop upgrade, I tried to do a parallel standard upgrade from Vista Home Premium to Win7 Homer Premium, but there were serious problems. In short, Win7 didn't work. As a result, I was forced to do a fresh install.

Fortunately, I had enough sense to backup my files beforehand and had no problem downloading Win7 drivers from the Dell support site. I also had to retrieve a Win7 version of my virus protection package. I used Panda Internet Security, and they make the upgrade easy. I can't speak for McAfee, Norton, or any other virus protection companies.

In the end, the fresh loads were successful, and both my computers now run faster and more efficiently. The Vista OS wasn't nearly as bad as people claimed, but Win7 is a definite improvement. I strongly recommend the upgrade to Win7 for anyone who knows how to solve typical problems that could arise during an OS upgrade. Non-geeks should have a knowledgeable person do it for them.

One of the many reasons I stick with Microsoft products rather than migrating to Apple computers is that I absolutely deplore Apple's approach to marketing, which consists solely of negative ads in which they lie about Microsoft products.

We all know the television spots featuring the twenty-something Apple hipster and the thirty-something PC geek. Ever since these ads began a few years back, they have yet to give viewers a single legitimate reason to use Apple computers. Instead, they simply spread lies and exaggerations about Microsoft.

I have no fervent allegiance to the Microsoft Corporation and would migrate to Apple if I felt the company had something to offer beyond a marketing strategy based upon meaningless, hollow imagery. Using unstable Apple computers in the workplace for many years convinced me that the Apple mystique is nothing more than a marketing plan aimed at kids whose only goal is to be viewed as cool and hip.

There is a very good reason why the vast majority of computer users in the world prefer Microsoft products. That's why Apple advertising is based solely on negating Microsoft. So if you've seen the newest Apple television spots that attempt to bash the Windows 7 operating system, understand that it's complete nonsense. If you're serious about computers, you already know that.

Flood and viaduct

2009-11-03T05:42:00.003-05:00

The old West End street car viaduct during a flood from the Birkett collection. Click to enlarge. (East Liverpool Historical Society)

Unconscionable acts

2009-11-01T07:56:00.013-05:00

by M. Stewart

Thanks to an investigative piece in today's Morning Journal, the plot thickens around Salineville fiscal officer Robert Roach, whose conspicuous trash talk about a former village clerk has drawn attention to his own business and personal finances.

According to the newspaper, Roach agreed to the findings in a lawsuit brought against him by former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann involving what Dann called "unconscionable acts." In short, Roach was popped for mortgage appraisal fraud and agreed to pay a fine. As for Dann, he resigned his post amidst allegations of sexual harassment and extramarital affairs.

The newspaper also says that Roach "fac[es] several judgments in Mahoning County Court, including foreclosure on his home...." As if that's not enough, Salineville cemetery clerk Rhonda Johnson submitted her resignation last week, citing Roach's refusal to hand over important financial documents regarding cemetery business.

If Mr. Roach thought he could lie low in Salt Town, he was mistaken, especially after he insisted on publicly criticizing long-time elected village clerk Melissa Baker. His claim that the Morning Journal's investigation of his personal business affairs is "a bunch of tabloid garbage" reveals only that Roach: 1) does not understand what it means to hold public office; and 2) does not know MoJo journalist Jo Ann Bobby Gilbert.

The dude is in way over his head.

Aside from Salineville politics, the issue of mortgage lenders operating in cahoots with appraisers is an interesting one. Like most people, I've dealt with banks when it comes to mortgages, and I've always been a bit suspicious of the fact that bankers always insist on using their own selected appraisers. It's funny that appraisals always seem to come in at exactly what the banks want to loan on a given home.

In other words, I suspect that collusion between appraisers and mortgage lenders is the rule rather the exception. I assume, however, that banks are smart enough not to leave a paper trail documenting the collusion. Then again I could be wrong, My experience with banks could be totally coincidental and unique.

Anyhow, much thanks to Jo Ann Bobby-G for the good work she does out in the hinterlands.

A wrinkle in time

2009-10-30T08:42:00.000-04:00

Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

The glass is half full (but leaking)

2009-10-30T08:36:00.002-04:00

by M. Stewart
First the good news. The paving of upper Lincoln Avenue is complete, making the street passable and safe for motor vehicles for the first time in decades. For cliff dwellers, the feeling of coasting down Lincoln on the smooth surface is almost surreal. Hats off to those responsible for finally taking care of this serious problem.

Now for the bad news. Today’s Morning Journal carries a story about a repossessed city police car. The reason? The city auditor, the law director, and city council have been unable to coordinate to write and pass the legislation necessary to arrange financing for the vehicle.

Not sure about the law director, but apparently the auditor is too busy trying to stay out of jail, and city council is unable to do business because not enough council members will show up for meetings. One councilman seems to have quit without telling anyone.

Quoted in the newspaper, police Capt. Norm Curtis blamed the situation on “rampant incompetence.” Chief Mike McVay called it “ridiculous.” I find it embarrassing that things have gotten this bad with our elected officials. I guess this is what happens when democracy fails.

PNB

2009-10-28T00:17:00.002-04:00

The old Potters National Bank building in East Liverpool. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Fever and football

2009-10-26T18:21:00.005-04:00

by M. Stewart
My son was home from college the weekend before last, and he had a bad cold -- sneezing and coughing and honking. He left Sunday; by Thursday I knew I’d “caught” his cold. Nice catch, Stewart.

Tight chest, fever, then down for three days while the body fights off the bug, then the mucous. Everyone knows exactly what I mean.

When I get a bug I recall that little cartoon they showed us in elementary school health class: the one where red and white blood cells looked like little beans with eyes and legs. The invading virus was a bunch of black spidery things. It was a war.

More recently, my attention was drawn to an NPR story that carries video of a modern computer generated cartoon on the subject of viral infections. WARNING: If you look at this and get sick in the near future, it will be all you think about.

Changing the subject . . .

My prediction of a Steelers victory over the Vikings Sunday turned out righteous. As everyone expected, it was a great game with big plays. The most succinct summation is that the Vikings brought their A-game offense, but the Pittsburgh defense was better.

Brett Favre had his best game of the season, throwing 51 times for 34 receptions and 334 yards, but his offense scored just 10 points. (The other seven came on a kickoff return.) Minnesota’s offense was beaten by a defense that outscored it.

Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger had a mediocre day but still made big plays when needed. As Mike Tomlin alluded to in his post-game press conference, the Steelers had the ball for just 23 minutes, which put tremendous pressure on a defense that on this day was up to the task. Had the ball bounced a different way on a single play, the final outcome could have been different. It was that close.

Favre and head coach Brad Childress walked away from the game scratching their heads. And why not? The Vikings had played extremely well and lost because of two turnovers. Maybe it was falling from the ranks of the undefeated that made them seem overly shell-shocked in the post-game interviews. I guess they really thought they could beat the Steelers in a big game at Heinz Field. Well, they thought wrong.

Lastly, I'm wondering what Cleveland Browns fans are saying about their team. What's the answer? What can be done right now to shake things up?

Carnegie Library

2009-10-23T10:55:00.005-04:00

No one will ever again build a structure like Carnegie Public Library in East Liverpool. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

BWD still attempting to dodge court decision

2009-10-21T06:48:00.019-04:00

by M. Stewart
Today’s Review has a good update on Buckeye Water District’s nearly $10 million debt to the city of East Liverpool. According to the paper, a hearing is scheduled for Oct. 28 with the Seventh District Court of Appeals in Youngstown.

The appellate court already dismissed the BWD appeal once in April 2008 “for lack of a final appealable order.” I don’t see this second round going any better for the water district. Unless something really bizarre happens, the court will reject the appeal again. The Ohio Supreme Court, which is the next step, most likely won’t even hear the case.

Let us recall Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge C. Ashley Pike's February 2008 decision. Not only did Pike rule against the water district, he admonished BWD witnesses, stopping just short of accusing them of perjury.

“Those witnesses were either vague or evasive in their testimony and attempted to engraft upon the clear language of the contract their perceptions of what they thought the contract meant,” Judge Pike wrote. ... “Simply put, the reasons given by the district as to the city’s alleged breach of contract were never true reasons at all. They were pretext. The district simply made a business decision to obtain its own water and that is what it did.”

In other words, the water district’s attempt to weasel out of its purchase contract with East Liverpool was flimsy and transparent at best. Because Pike’s strongly worded decision isn’t likely to be overturned by the appellate court, it’s apparent to even the casual observer that the appeal process is all about delaying payment.

To put it bluntly, the county and BWD are in dire straits, especially since the water district’s major cash cow, Baard Energy, has been unable to attract investors for its proposed Wellsville coal conversion plant. Once the appeals process has been milked for all its worth and BWD is forced to pay up, I look for the county to do everything it can to separate itself from the water district to avoid sharing liability. That should be interesting to watch.

How the water district can afford to pay the city is the only real issue. Maybe that explains why the BWD Board of Trustees recently hired Dallis Dawson's people to go begging door to door in Calcutta for new customers. Pardon me if I'm not sympathetic. East Liverpool's water department has been forced to take out a loan to pay for $30k worth of new pumps. How pitiful is that?

I hope the Seventh District Court of Appeals’ decision is as strongly worded as Judge Pike’s. Maybe then BWD will be forced to come clean and pay its bills. It also might be a good time for the BWD Board of Trustees to start representing their constituents rather than the water district. After all, trustees are supposed to provide oversight on behalf of those who appointed them, not to operate as business managers or agents for the body they're entrusted to watch.

Jump to the Flash/Steelers-Vikes

2009-10-20T17:06:00.003-04:00

by M. Stewart
Lots of good things at Eastern Flash. Check out the piece on the Garden Club photo contest by Lita Hutchinson. Mike Canaday has a nice piece on the Kam Hayes art reception at KSU@EL’s Mary Patterson Gallery last Thursday. And how about Melody Gustafson’s op-ed piece: Finance committee votes on YOUR future health care.

The weekend’s big game between the Vikings and the Steelers should be a great one. Aside from the fact that I‘m a Steelers fan, Pittsburgh is at home and playing well, so I’m picking them to win.

No question Minnesota is a solid team, and then there’s the whole Brett Favre thing. But Pittsburgh brings the NFL’s second-best passing attack, while Favre and the Vikes are in the middle of the field at 17th. Minnesota has an edge in the running game, but not by much.

Were it not for a game-ending missed field goal, the Vikings would have lost at home on Sunday to the Ravens, so there’s no reason to think the Steelers won’t beat them at Heinz Field. And let’s not get hyperbolic about the Vikings defense. In total yards, Minnesota ranks #18 in the league, which is nothing to brag about. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has the NFL’s #3 defense.

If statistics mean anything after six games, the Steelers post better overall offensive and defensive numbers. That the Vikings come in undefeated is irrelevant. It’s the record at the end of the year that counts.

Where's the money, Lebowski?

2009-10-18T08:15:00.015-04:00

by M. Stewart
The East Liverpool Board of Public Utilities presented me with a $853 water bill last month. In preparation for a hearing, I asked the water department clerk to show me all the bills, payments, and usage numbers since I bought my house over 11 years ago. In doing so, she discovered a $404 calculation error, which left me with a $449 bill.

According to the water department, I had been underbilled for years due to a faulty external meter. To fix the problem, I had to shell out another $110 for a new meter. Although I’m $560 lighter today, I trust that my water usage data will be accurate in the future, and I'm glad to have paid what I owe.

I mention this not to make the water department people look bad. Even though it required my forcing the issue, they were gracious in their willingness to help me solve the problem. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that if I had not been in a position to pay the $449 by Oct. 15, my water service would have been shut off within ten days. Water departments have to work that way.

Friday’s Review carried a story indicating that our Board of Public Utilities has been forced to take out a loan to fix water pump motors at a cost of $35,600. Sewage rates already are set to increase on Nov. 1, and because of slumping revenues, the board is considering another water rate increase.

. . .which brings me to the $9,714,036.37 (plus 8 percent interest) that Buckeye Water District owes the city of East Liverpool as a result of the February 2008 judgment against the water district for breach of contract.

Why isn’t anyone at city hall mentioning this $10 million debt? Where did this money go?

Buckeye Water’s March 4, 2008 appeal was dismissed a month later by the Seventh District Court of Appeals. I haven’t heard anything since. In the meantime, BWD opened a brand new, very expensive water treatment plant outside of Wellsville, complete with ceremonies, tours, and grip-and-grin photos of politicians and board members on the front pages of our newspapers.

Yet the East Liverpool Board of Public Utilities has to take out a loan to cover routine maintenance of pumps.

Something is seriously wrong with this picture. Can someone tell us little folk—you know, the ones who are required to pay our water bills—why Buckeye Water District doesn’t have to pay its $10 million bill? What am I missing?

Affordable Appliances

2009-10-16T08:35:00.002-04:00

Corner of Walnut and East Sixth streets in East Liverpool. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Diamond Shoe

2009-10-16T08:32:00.002-04:00

The Diamond Shoe Parlor was located at 519 Market Street, East Liverpool. Click to enlarge.

Carnegie

2009-10-16T08:26:00.002-04:00

The East Liverpool Carnegie Library. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Art exhibit opening Thursday night

2009-10-14T09:47:00.005-04:00

Everyone is invited to the Ohio Valley Regional Arts Council exhibit opening from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Thursday at KSU-EL's Mary Patterson Gallery. The featured artist is East Liverpool's own Kelley "Kam" Hayes. I've known Kam for several years and have always admired her work. Our opening-night parties are informal affairs and always lots of fun, so do something different Thursday night and join us for some food, wine, and art. Supporting our local artists is important.

The gallery is on the second floor of the Mary Patterson building, 213 East Fourth Street downtown. I hope to see you there!

Call to action for Carnegie Public Library

2009-10-14T05:44:00.011-04:00

In case you haven't seen this, I thought I'd pass it along. It's from Concerned Citizens For The Future of The Carnegie Public Library, and I have no idea who they are because the document has no signatures. Although I am sympathetic to those who have lost jobs and remain concerned about the disruption at our library, I am ignorant of the institution's internal affairs. Naturally, I know of the state budget cuts to libraries, but I'm not in a position to confirm or judge the validity of the statements made in this memo to the public.

ATTENTION: TAXPAYERS AND PATRONS OF THE CARNEGIE PUBLIC LIBRARY! IS THE LIBRARY BOARD LOOKING AFTER YOUR BEST INTERESTS...? OR ONLY THOSE OF A CHOSEN FEW?

As a result of state budget cuts there is real threat that the Carnegie Public Library may be forced to close in the not too distant future. That would be sad for our community.

Also due to these cuts, the staff of your library has been decimated. We have learned that those remaining have been hit with drastic reductions in hours and pay. Today only six staff members remain to work the circulation desk, to run children’s programs, to cover, catalog and shelve books, and to assist patrons.

The library’s board of directors is not responsible for the budget cuts--the State of Ohio is. There are, however, serious concerns regarding the manner in that the Board of The Carnegie Public Library has allowed the small amount of the money remaining to be spent.

It is public record that the library’s projected operating budget for the Year 2010 is a bare bones $499,000. Yet, two employees will account for over 27% of that TOTAL BUDGET!

Let’s look at the numbers: With wages and benefits, the director and the chief fiscal officer will make nearly $136,000 combined. That’s for TWO people! Approximately $68,000 a year/ $36.00 er hour goes to the library director... and over $67,000.00 per year/ $37.00 per hour goes to the fiscal officer who has no degree in finance.

In light of all this, some obvious questions deserve answers:

1.Why is the board of directors being so generous?

2. Why is what appears to be an inordinate amount of money being earmarked for administration wages and benefits when there are fewer than seven staff members to manage? (Columbiana’s library has 20 employees and their director also serves as the fiscal officer).

3. Why have high wages and expensive benefits been granted to two people while hours of operation have been significantly reduced?

4. Why are new books and movies on the shelves such a rarity?

5. Why is a once-beautiful, iconic library building in serious disrepair, posing a safety hazard to patrons and staff?

As concerned patrons and taxpayers it is our belief that the responsibility for this deplorable situation rests squarely on the shoulders of the library board. Their lack of oversight and their preferred treatment toward management can only be viewed as total disregard for the public’s best interest...not to mention our tax dollars! Performance of their mandatory due diligence comes into serious question.

It’s time to ask questions. It’s time to expect answers. Your voice is important if the library is to remain a valuable resource for the families of this community.
Please remember: The Carnegie Public Library’s ability to survive these bleak economic times is not only a matter of how much money is in the budget... it’s a matter of how that money is being utilized.

You are encouraged to do one or more of the following:

1. Contact the mayor, the individual who appoints the board members, and voice your concern. Tell him we need proactive board members who understand that the library is a BUSINESS, requiring knowledge on how a business should function.

2. Contact the board members. Ask questions. Hold them accountable for their decisions.

3. Attend the next board meeting on October 21st at 5:30 p.m. at the library and show board members that you will not tolerate this inefficient operation of the library.

Important Contact Information:

Board of Directors
Bob Bloor 330-385-3921
John Fisher 330-385-4315
Sarah Wilson 330-385-4302
Larry Walton 330-386-5077
Colleen Van Leuwen 330-385-6282
Debby Wynn 330-385-5663

Mayor’s Office
Mayor James P. Swoger
330-385-3381
126 West 6th Street
East Liverpool, OH 43920

Carnegie Public Library
Main Office
330-385-2048

As a taxpayer, as a library patron--please remember: There is a real possibility that your library may have to close. Your actions could make the difference.

Thank you for joining us in our concern for the future of your Carnegie Public Library. For information please visit us on the web. Concerned Citizens For The Future of The Carnegie Public Library East Liverpool, Ohio