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Absence claims serve a purpose
The Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Dairy Department is considering a law prohibiting labeling such as “no pesticides, no hormones, and no antibiotics.” This decision would effectively use our tax dollars to keep us from receiving information that we want.
The rise in popularity of “absence claims” labeling reflects our growing knowledge and desire to distinguish between products and make informed decisions for political, social and personal health reasons. The act of choice in purchasing is a powerful way in which we take political action.
My question is why are we spending millions of dollars each year to make sure our high school athletes are not using growth hormones if Monsanto can put rBST in our milk without our knowledge?
The agriculture department has scheduled these meeting during these holiday times making it even more difficult for the general public to voice concerns about this proposed law in person. If you feel as I do please contact the governor’s office at 614-644-4357 or your local representatives.
Riley LaPolla,
Columbus
People really do care
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Southwest and Westside Messengers for the article published about the theft of new lumber from the Faith Community Church of God, located at the corner of Alkire and Demorest Roads.
We have had the experience of knowing that God does take care of his own. The people of the church are positive that God wants this church on this corner. We have had people stop and drop off donations to cover the price of the stolen wood. We have had people offer materials to help protect property belonging to the church. Neighbors who return home from work in the early morning hours and some late in the evening have volunteered to check the property and call the sheriff’s office is anything suspicious is happening.
God is blessing this church. It is a good feeling to know that there are those who care and are willing to help in any way they can. We, at Faith Community Church, want to wish each of you a specially blessed Christmas and a very prosperous New Year.
Faith Community Church of God,
Columbus
Teachers deserve equal treatment
This letter is in response to a letter that ran in the Southwest and Westside Messengers on Nov. 26.
While it is true that the South-Western City Schools Board of Education should look out for the entire community, it is difficult to see how treating teachers differently from administrators achieves that goal. What the teachers are asking for pales in comparison to the recent contract with the administrators union, which includes salaries that most people would find shocking.
Although some of the educators at the rally are earning more compared to the average worker living in the SWCS district, many of those educators have a higher level of education than the average citizen. The job teachers perform directly impacts property values and will influence the economic and civic development of our community.
Why does the board of education continue to pit the public against the teachers? Why is a contract that is equitable with the administrator’s contract not forthcoming? Perhaps the newly minted board members can take a more active role in the negotiations. Until then, superintendents and administrators will blur the truth and encourage mistrust, leading to low morale in the classroom. These so-called “leaders” do nothing to better the future of this community.
Rick Redfern
Central Crossing parent
Board doesn’t set good example
This is in response to a letter to the editor that ran in the Nov. 30 edition of the Southwest and Westside Messengers.
As a teacher for 25 years in the South-Western City Schools District, I assure you the contract issues are not about money. Teachers have repeatedly given up benefits and taken lesser amounts in raises over the last few years. Most recently we voluntarily took lesser insurance coverage in order to save the district $800,000. Working with the district is not a problem for us.
To insist we provide a good example and ignore the example the leaders of the district are providing is unconscionable. As a voter in this district, I have watched the board repeatedly treat the teachers with disrespect. If you have been watching the news reports, you realize that no board member is on the negotiation team. As a teacher, I apparently do not merit their attention.
As a voter and parent in the district, I also find the board’s behavior poor at best. I don’t feel I’m respected. This was driven home when I attended board meetings and discovered they were all of 20 minutes long. I as a citizen don’t even merit open discussions of issues that affect my children.
These are only some of the misbehaviors the board engages in. If money were the only issue this would have been settled long ago.
If you want people to set a better example, look to the leaders first.
Colleen E. Cunningham
Grove City
