Friday, June 6, 2008

Catching Up


I am so far behind in my homework, bloggin', reading my books and stuff. Too bad I have to sleep. That time could be put to good use. I have been keeping up on reading the newspapers though. Compared to East Liverpool it's been kind of quiet in the ville.


The Memorial Day week-end got me completely off schedule. I fully intended to go to the OEPA meeting last week. Being a real dummkopf I was thinking that Tuesday was Monday. Memorial Day was pretty much like a Sunday at our house - quiet and relaxing.


I realized I was a day behind when I read the accounts of the meeting in the papers on Wednesday. Sounds like the meeting went well for Baard. How was the attendance? Looks like more environmentalist folks showed up - Energy Justice Network, National Coal Campaign of the Sierra Club and George Peya. It's going to get interesting. So far I haven't read anything that even starts to convince me that this proposed plant will have a negative impact on our environment. We have two electric power plants in our area that have been burning coal for years now and it hasn't been proven that it is causing us to be worried about the effects on our health and well being. I think the technology being proposed by Baard will be even better than what is used in either Shippingport or Stratton.


The next meeting will deal with air pollution controls. No date has been set for that one. Hopefully I'll be awake when it rolls around.


The Buckeye Water District and their lawyers have been spending a lot of time in court the last few weeks. Judge Pike granted a stay on their fine they owe EL pending the BWD appeal. In other court action the water company agreed to pay two suppliers for material provided for the new plant that is under construction. This should allow them to work on getting the new system completed. Then they still have the law suit pending with the general contractor that started the project. Wonder if they regret not sitting down and working out those complaints before they started throwing people out? In my way of thinking it would have been much more cost effective.


Some say we are in a recession. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research since 1907 recessions occur on average every five years. Our last one was seven years ago and the worse one was during the Great Depression. That one lasted nearly four years.


I hope Gov. Strickland takes another look at his proposed new self-defense bill. It's a bill that would allow new protection from prosecution for folks that kill an attacker and claim self-defense. According from what I read in the MJ the proposed bill is vague and has too many loop holes. The bill is being backed by the NRA and is being opposed by law enforcement groups all over the state. It made me think of Eric Dillard's case. He's pleading self-defense for shooting Jamie Farley.


Speaking of Dillard - he was indicted by the Grand Jury recently. His case will now be moved to Common Pleas for prosecution.


According to newspaper accounts the last council meeting was mostly spent discussing the ouster of the St. Francis Animal Shelter from village owned facilities due to a section of the Ohio Revised Code. Is this the result of a power struggle between the village employed dog catcher and the St. Francis people? What prompted Councilwoman Rosie Goss to get the village solictor to look into it? I feel it's a shame this came about. The folks associated with SFAS seemed to be dedicated volunteers that put a lot of hard work into this project. If some sort of compromise can't be worked out at least the village should reimburse them for the money they put into that facility. That would help them get another place to carry on their good work.


Also at the last meeting it was announced the village is looking for a grant writer. We had one of those years ago. I think it's an excellent idea but offer a word of caution to our Wellsville administrators. Most of those grants require matching funds and they will have to keep in mind what the village budget can afford. Financially things seem to be going good. I would hate to see us get into another fiscal emergency. There's grant money out there and it's good they are moving forward to get some. Just remember it usually come with a cost to consider.


It was good to see that the Museum of Ceramics was able to work out an agreement with the Ohio Historical Society and keep the doors open. Hope they can make it work.


Speaking of historical societies Wellsville's is going to have a "Remembering Our Freedom" display featuring the 4th Armored Div. historical group presenting a live history of WWII. It is to be held the week-end of June 14 & 15 at the River Museum. If anyone has any WWII memorabilia to loan the museum contact Brassy Beresford at 330-532-3941.


I'm sure you have heard the term global economy. The steelworkers are in the process of forming a global union starting with England's steelworker's union. It's a step to cope with global economy and have a stratergy for steel labor. I also think it's a stratergy for survival for the unions to cope with the multi-national steel companies.


Gina Hampson is back to work on the floodwall murals. Her newest one is the Catholic School that use to be on 11th Street where the parking lot is today. The school was demolished back in the late 70's. The picture of the post card above was found on a web site called "genealogy pit stop". That picture is an old one. It was taken before the church was built and the fire escapes were added on. From what I understand the church was located in the basement when the school was built. Prior to that the church was where the old fire station is today.


I don't know how it came about but the Shade Tree Commission won't be needing money from the village after all to complete the Broadway Park project. It was reported that the request was taken off the village council agenda. Did they get another grant, more donations or negotiated a new deal to complete the project? It would be interesting to learn how it came about.


Do you remember Hans Hacker? He was a commercial artist by trade but produced many works of art. Most of his subjects were of the local area. I just love his paintings. The EL Historical Society is putting a project together to make a DVD and possibly a book compiling the late artist's works. They are looking for folks that have anything done by the late artist so they can photograph them. If you have anything to contribute contact them at hanshackerarchive@comcast.net. They won't keep them. They just want to get a picture.


Wonder why the Citgo gas station in Chester is so expensive. About the time they raised their price to $4.09/gallon the stations in Calcutta dropped theirs to $3.89. Could it be greed that we have been hearing about on the news?


Finally I'm glad someone explained what the Cornhole contest was that was held at last week's Firemen's carnival. It seems to be a game similar to horse shoes. They toss bean bags at a hole in a slanted piece of wood. Points are won if the bean bag goes in the hole or lands on the wood. I wondered about that all week.


There! That almost catches me up.


ole nib




12 comments:

Anonymous said...

You posted some interesting comments about the proposed "self-Defense" bill. I would agree with you if the local law enforcement were competent in their duties, however that is not the case. Not in our local communities.With all the bodies washing up on shore and the killings in the 'ville, I really don't understand how anyone could think differently. I read in the paper this morning that the concealed carry permit has not been much of a problem for local law enforcement. Still I remember when the law enforcement groups from all over the state were opposed to law abiding citizens carrying a gun. Why would that be a problem? One bumper sticker I read stated, "An armed society is a polite society." Watching old westerns, even the bad guys tipped their hat to a lady. So bring back the old ways of doing things...

************* said...

It's a sad situation that a society has to be armed to be polite. It's even a sadder situation that you base your gun toting philosophy based on "old westerns". Some find it difficult to equate Hollywood with reality especially in fictional products. With your line of thinking civilization would be set back hundreds of years.

ole nib

Anonymous said...

Nib,
The law that you find fault with is called the "Castle Doctrine" in all of the states that it has passed in so far (at least 20 as of March, 2008). I can not see why you would not want such a law. It has pretty much three parts. 1) Your house is your castle. You have to assume that anybody breaking into your house is capable of doing you grave bodily harm. 2) You have the right to use whatever force necessary to make this person stop breaking into your house and you have no duty to retreat. 3) The crackhead and/or their family that just broke into your house has no right to sue you or your survivors because you killed them or injured them while they were robbing you blind.

The way the law is structured now in Ohio, you would have to leave your house (retreat) if you came home and found a bunch of idiot crackheads sitting on your couch when you came home. You could not even brandish a firearm (as long as they were not threatening you). The only recourse you would have is to call the po-po. Furthermore, if somebody breaks into your home and falls over the uneven floor that you have been meaning to fix, they can sue you! They may not win eventually, but you have exhausted a whole bunch of money trying to defend the bullshit lawsuit that was filed against you. If you wake up in the middle of the night to find somebody standing over your bed (or your child's bed) you better assume that they are not their to ask you if you want to play chess. Under current law, if you shoot this person, you will be charged (assuming they have no weapon on them). The new law reads that you have the right to assume that that person is there to do you bodily harm. The way society has become, you had better assume this!

This law is going through the States like wildfire. It has nothing to do with the Dillard or the Amato case. If you would take the time to read the law, I am sure that you would change your mind. I must admit that I have not read the entire Ohio version of the law, but I have picked apart the Florida "Castle Law" that started this revolution. Florida starts most of the great new laws, including the right to carry law. I knew the day this law was passed in Florida that it would hit home someday. I am just a little peaved that it took longer than I thought it would. Thank you Governor Strickland for a long needed law. Anybody that feels differently should read the bill and decide for yourself. Do not let the NRA or the FOP decide for you. Make your own decision.

And Nib, I was never a "guest writer" on the orl. I have commented on your blog and the orl as I see things, just like everybody else that comments.

************* said...

Tyrone - Sorry, I had you confused with Muhammad Jones that had a column on ORL this past November 22 entitled "Beautification: Let's get on with it".

So, what you're saying is that under the Castle Law you can blow away anyone in your house and all you have to do is say I was threatened to get away with it?What a great way to get rid of an annoying neighbor - invite him over for a beer, blow him away and claim he threatened you. That's the possible kind of thinking that concerns me about this proposed law. True there is some merit in it but the potential for abuse is truly frightening. If you heard a noise coming from your child's room in the middle of the night would you go check on them with a loaded gun in your hand?

ole nib

Anonymous said...

Yes sir, I would. I will do everything in my power to protect my family.

Anonymous said...

No I would not go into my daughters room with a loaded handgun, unless I was lead to believe that there was something going on in there to warrant that action.
Nib, you have got to pull your head out of the sand (or where ever it is), and realize that things are just not the same as when we grew up.
I am sure that you did some things that you could have been in trouble for when you were younger. Just relate some of those stories to the youth of today and they will look at you like you knocked over a outside privy. Listen to girls talk, they would make a sailor blush!!
If I understand you correctly you would not defend your "castle?" What would be your course of action if you found someone in your favorite chair, drinking your beer and watching your TV?

************* said...

Oh contraire my friend I would definitely defend my loved ones and what's mine. However I don't consider deadly force as the first option in that defense. First off the dog would give me a heads up that something is amiss. She barks and grumbles when she hears a strange noise out in the street, not to mention her demeanor when a stranger comes to the dog. It's better than a door bell. The baseball bat behind my bedroom door could also come in handy in a stunning way. I can tip toe around too. As I told my son when he was growing up and thinking he could take on the old man that he better make the first hit a good one. If forced into a fight I don't play "fair". I'll use the first thing within reach to use for a weapon whether it be a pencil, a finger in the eye or smashing a glass in his face. Most homes are loaded with non-lethal weapons when you stop and think about it. Believe me over the years I have given it a lot of thought. If someone threatens me I can change moods from nice to nasty in mid sentence. I don't like getting hurt but I'll suffer cuts and bruises to defend what's mine.

What would I do if I came home and found intruders in my house? The most sensible thing to do would to be turn around and walk back out while hitting the speed dial on my cell for the police. If I'm out I always have the cell on me. You may scoff at that but I have insurance to cover any damage and it is simply not worth getting injured to prove you're macho. If I got jumped see above. Someone is going to get hurt and I have no intention on being that someone.

ole nib

************* said...

Tyrone - Get your gun rack ready. The governor signed Ohio's version of the Castle Law into effect starting in Sept. You can be the first on your block to openly and visibly carry your unloaded AK-47 and have it fully assembled in your pick-em-up.

Lord help us. Now be polite. Tip your hat to the ladies.

ole nib

Anonymous said...

Here is a good website to go to if you want to read the new law which has been passed: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=127_SB_184

Cuss and discuss it all you want. I think that it is a great law and has nothing to do with being "Macho" or "Tough". Baseball bats were made to hit baseballs with, not people. A baseball bat in the right hands of the right person will absolutely piss somebody higher than a kite off enough to get yourself killed. Handguns are available to protect yourself and your family. The times they have changed, and the laws need to change as well to keep up with the times. I would never own an AK-47 or similar gun but I do have my share of functional defensive weapons and sporting guns. I own no ball bats. If you aren't privileged to know somebody that has been sued by one of these idiots that had no legal right to be on their property to begin with, you have no idea what this law is all about.

Anonymous said...

No wonder this country is so violent and messed up. To many backward thinking, gun crazy, a-holes. Maybe someday we will be progressive and civilized..like when we pry all the guns out of all the cold, dead hands and toss them in the river.

Anonymous said...

Hey Sylvia'sMommy,
There was a country that already did just that.
Their leader was a man who brought their country from ashes to be a world power in just a couple decades.
His name was Hitler. He was FOR GUN CONTROL.
Read your history books.
Oh Nibby, BTW Wellsville was a city then.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone have a pictur of the old Roadside Rest that was in Wellsville. We are looking, Gina needs more pictures to paint the next mural. If you have any pictures, would you see Gina. You can find her at the floodwall most days.
Thanks