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Westside neglected by Columbus
I agree with Dawn Griffith (in her Jan. 21 letter to the editor) that it is sad to see the Georgesville Road Meijer store closing. I’m greatly concerned that the city of Columbus is showing a distinct discern for this side of town. Ask any southsider about the changes to their once great neighborhood. It seems that the Westside is becoming just a dumping ground for flea markets, thrift stores and empty stores. I for one do not like to travel to Polaris or Tuttle, or even Eastland because of gas prices. It’s a darn shame that Westland was allowed to fall apart and be overrun with the gang population.
I ask the City of Columbus, what gives? Is it your intention to let the Westside fall into ruin? There are a lot of tax paying people with roots in this area, people whose parents worked and lived here. Are we not important enough, or rich enough, or dare I say it, sophisticated enough for you?
Rebecca K. Jones,
Columbus
Baggers Course 101
For quite sometime, I’ve debated with myself about whether or not the opinion page of the Messenger would take a gripe of mine. Of late, I’ve found that I am not the only one with the same gripe – baggers at the various supermarkets.
The favorite bags of choice for local supermarkets are the ones made of small thin plastic. Trying to adhere to the enviromentalists mandates of saving the earth and riding the landfills of unfriendly plastics, I ask for paper bags. The usual “deer-in-the-headlights” look is the standard response.
Paper bags are not as thick and tall as in the old days. In recent bagging contests, which I have never attended, I wonder if they use standard bags, as used in the supermarkets?
My reasoning behind not using the small plastic bags is that it takes more of them. Also, while in transport they open and spill out their contents, and you wind up re-bagging your groceries. They come in handy for frozen goods and wet packages, placed inside paper bags (provided the bagger does so).
After requesting paper bags, then comes the threat of having the bagger place all canned goods into one bag and all light items into another bag, in spite of your request to make the bags “light”.
I protested this operation to a cashier at one supermarket, and was told they are instructed to pack the bags in this fashion. This I do not believe. What I do believe, is that all baggers should be required to take “Baggers Course 101” and learn how to pack groceries.
As a course of last resort, enviromentalists suggest that people use re-useable cloth bags, which I use from time to time. If I were to use cloth bags local supermarkets, however, I would have to take up weight- lifting 101. And Arnold Swartzenagger, I’m not.
Dale E. Lauffer,
Columbus
Time to work together
I am writing in response to the article titled “Another empty building” in the Jan. 28 edition of the Westside Messenger. I am in agreement with a few things State Representative Dan Stewart mentioned, the biggest thing is that something must be done to restore the Westside. I would hope that when the dates and locations of the town meetings and community forums that Stewart said were in his plans would be published in the Messenger with plenty of notice. I would like to encourage other residents of the Westside to please attend these meetings and bring their suggestions and ideas. Together we can help restore the Westside.
Dawn Griffith,
Columbus
