Letters to Editor
Opinion
‘Boss’s Backside’
I am writing to respond to John Ralph’s letter to the editor in last week’s issue. I must say I believed John Ralph having submitted a pubic records request for my personal history through my employer would have caused way more trouble than just “wrong so often.”
First, let me say kudos to the Maple Leaf for setting the record straight. To print positive items someone has to write them. I do recall one person saying that Grendell is a “jovial guy,” which I believe is probably true when he is not trying to run roughshod over the First Amendment or trying to expand the reach of his authority into areas not expressly stated by law.
This isn’t political, this is behavioral. Sooner or later, Tim will realize that when he stops trying to control everyone and everything around him, life will get a whole lot easier.
Lastly, let me say this. When I was hired I went through the process of competing against other candidates who were also capable of fulfilling the job requirements. In the end, after a background check my employer felt that my 30 years of experience, part of which was as the Director of Campus Safety & Security at one university and then as Security Manager for the Virginia Tech Police, was more than enough to fulfill the simple daily duties I have while I returned to school for both my BS and master’s degrees in criminal justice.
Unlike you, I and, more importantly, the men and women in uniform around you every day earned our positions. We didn’t get appointed to them for kissing the boss’s backside. You should keep that in mind the next time you feel like criticizing any of your peers from the position you were appointed to.
As always I can be reached for comment at rallengcgop@yahoo.com
Rob Allen
Claridon Township
Don’t Nullify Our Vote
It certainly appears that suspending collection of the Geauga Park District levy for another year is simply an example of throwing Brer Rabbit back into the briar patch.
A memo written by Judge Timothy Grendell in August of 2014 specifically requesting the suspending the collection of the 1986 0.70-mill levy is quite clear that it was the judge’s desire to suspend the collection of the levy that the majority of citizens voted for in 1986 and again in 2012. This memo is part of the public record.
Suspending the collection of that levy in 2015 cost the Geauga Park District over $800,000 in revenue and saved the average person in Geauga County less than $20 a year. This suspension was based on a budget that failed to account for items such as the salaries of positions that needed to be filled and the funds needed to purchase land.
The budget instead left all of these funds in an unexplained lump. Rather than doing a proper job of itemizing and explaining each line item in 2014, as the county auditor requested, the GPD board and director left the lump of funds unexplained. It sure seemed like a deliberate move to give the judge exactly what he wanted and then blame it on the county Budget Commission.
Now in 2015 the unexplained lump remains, causing the Budget Commis-sion to once again ask for a budget that actually explains an itemized list of estimated expenses. Once again, the Shumway Board and Director Oros are poised to cost our parks another $800,000 through failure to require that the budget is itemized correctly.
Note, this does not reflect a lack of need for the funds, projects that had been itemized on past budgets have disappeared from the budget, properties that could have been purchased have slipped away and some positions to be filled remain unbudgeted.
In my opinion, suspending collection of this levy for 2016 is much like Brer Rabbit and that briar patch. Mrs. Shumway and Mr. Oros will have done the judge’s bidding and all will have complete deniability.
The judge will very likely seize this as an opportunity to place one more of his loyal followers into a position to allow him to wield even more power. Once again, the majority of the public that voted to support the parks will be the losers.
Can we take another approach? Rather than suspending the levy and nullifying the vote of the people, doesn’t it make more sense for the Geauga County Budget Commission to require the GPD board to instate an audit committee (including a CPA) to help assure that the board does its duty to assure that the parks are funded into the future?
Kathryn Hanratty
Chardon Township
Editor’s Note: The Geauga County Budget Commission approved the Geauga Park District proposed 2016 budget on Aug. 24, without suspending the 0.70-mill levy a second year. Commission members, however, left the door open to suspending it again in 2016 if park district officials did not start reducing its cash balances.
Scripture Says…
On the front page of the Maple Leaf, July 2, 2015, edition, there was an article written by Amy Pennza entitled “Local Church Invites Same-Sex Couples to Marry on July 4.”
As a Christian, I find the East Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Kirtland and their Rev. Denis Letourneau Paul to have taken part in what I feel is offensive to me as a Christian.
The church and government are two separate entities per our Constitution, Bill of Rights and other documents written by our government forefathers. The government does not have any right to condone or encourage same-sex marriages by passing any laws pertaining to this subject.
I did some investigation into the Unitarian Universalist beliefs and find them to be unbelievable liberal as compared with Christian beliefs that I would not even call them a church — they are more like a club or cult.
First of all, I wonder if their forefathers read the St. James Version of the Bible. or for that matter any reputable translations?
In six days God created the Heavens and Earth and all there was in, including every living animal and being, and HE saw that it was good. HE then created man to take care of the earth and all living animals and beings. Then HE created woman out dust and a rib from man to be man’s companion and a help mate.
The scripture does not say HE created man for man, or woman for woman.
The evolution of being politically correct has now entered into our churches and is corrupting our youth of today. The belief in God is not a fad; it has been around for many years. Same-sex marriages and/or intimate companionships are nothing more (as I see it) than a fad and a call for attention.
How can any Christian accept same-sex couples and their right to marry, and still believe in God the Father, God the Son (Christ) and God the Holy Ghost?
Linda J. Zmek
Auburn Township
Proud to be a Naysayer
This letter is in response to John Oros’s letter of Aug. 20 in your paper. He said Ed Buckles is a leader of loyal naysayers. I am proud to be a follower of Mr. Buckles and the group, Protect Geauga Parks.
The U.S. Constitution provides us with the guarantee of free speech and if that’s what it takes to be a naysayer, then so be it.
Without naysayers, the Vietnam War would’ve dragged on and Richard Nixon would’ve completed his second term in office. It’s the naysayers who persist and doggedly keep questioning. It’s the naysayers who uncover wrongs and attempt to make things right.
Our freedoms cannot exist without naysayers and I am proud to be one, and proud to be a member of PGP.
Louise Kimmich
Munson Township
