Scattered Thoughts

Hope you all had a nice Easter and the Easter bunny was good to ya. We usually have a quiet celebration here but the missus seems to think I still need a basket filled with some of my favorite goodies. She's just that kind of gal. Even with no kids around we still have the treats and I'm blessed to have her even though it's a challenge for my sugar level. Don't get me wrong I really appreciate it but I'll strenuously avoid any blood tests for a month or two!

Moving on to other things around the ville and items that might interest you are subjects in no particular order.

Incumbent Councilwoman Rosie Goss has filed her petition with the Election Board to run as an independent in the November election. Remember her petition for the primary ballot got tossed out for lack of enough valid signatures. New comer to the political arena is the ville's Susie Haugh. She hasn't filed her petitions yet but assures me she is going to get over to the Election Board before the deadline. These two ladies will be challenged by Republican Bob Marcin and Democrat Jack Cataldo.

Columbia Gas announced they are beginning the upgrades in Ohio. It's a statewide project starting in the northwestern part of the state. This is the same upgrade that Columbia Gas representatives approached Council last fall in regards to fees charged for opening holes in the ville. When they are done they'll be able to do "drive-by" meter readings with the planned new gas meters that must have some kind of radio signal that is read by a computer in their vehicles. It'll eliminate the necessity of meter readers walking around entering numbers on their hand held gizmos that they use now. It'll probably eliminate some jobs once they get all the bugs ironed out. Maybe by that time attrition will kick in and those folks that work there will be able to move into other positions.

I haven't seen it being done but Buckeye Water announced they will flushing hydrants from one end of the ville to the other starting this week. It may cause some mucky tap water and low pressure but that will only be temporary. The piece in the paper said they were going to start Monday "on the north end of town" but we all know they mean "up town" as we prefer to call the north end.

Haven't been to a Tree Board meeting yet but that is going to change starting next month. Fortunately Jo Bob got there which is new for us residents. Seems like the Tree Board and the Board of Education meet on the same nights and the BOE usually got the press coverage.

The tree people are getting ready to get back into action this year. They are going to go to school to learn tree diagnosis in order to do a survey in the village to determine which trees are healthy and which ones have to go, for not only our safety but the safety of future generations of trees. They are taking orders for memorial trees, pavers and benches. If you are interested in getting a loved one memorialized you can get all the information you need at their web site at www.wellsvilletreeboard.com. Believe there is price lists and contact information to found there. This group is another all volunteer committee and all money that comes in goes right back into projects they have lined up. They are a devoted group that improves the town's image and helps make our hometown someplace special.

Byron D. Beacom Scholarship applications are due by next Friday, April 24. Applications are available in the guidance office at WHS or on-line at well_rcr@acccess-k12.org.

Only 147 days left until the Steelers kick off the '09 Season. They play the Titans at home on a Thursday evening, Sept. 10.

J.C. Amato's defense team was dealt a set back by visiting Judge Joseph Bruzzese yesterday on their petition to suppress evidence found in executing a search warrant last fall. His trial is still scheduled May 19 for the new weapons charge. The murder trial is scheduled for August. Amato's defense wanted the new weapons charges thrown out and the judge ruled that under the circumstances he finds everything in order and kosher.

There was a reminder in the paper yesterday that ATVs are not street legal. WPD Chief Scarabino announced they are going to be cracking down on any violators they catch. It's a dangerous activity since most people that drive their ATVs on the street are dashing around at speeds unsafe in order to avoid being caught.

I would like to keep up on the spring sports especially for the high school teams. However there seems to be a paucity of newspaper coverage. With all the cut backs the papers just don't have the people to cover everything. I'm not certain but I think they depend on school representatives to phone in game results and I don't think that is being done too much. If the coaches don't have the time to do it they should designate someone for that chore. These kids play their hearts out and deserve more recognition, win or lose, for their efforts. Even just seeing their names in the results portion is a morale booster. I remember back all those years when I was a high schooler. Back in those days there were a few more reporters. Whenever I saw my name in the paper I was secretly thrilled. I always pretended it was no big deal but that was just being a teenage macho tough guy.

Spanks & roasts go out to whoever has the job of putting the different schedules on the WHS web site. There is nothing in there for baseball, softball, track or golf - not one single schedule. It's hard to keep up on those things and to make plans. One of the boy's baseball coaches gave me a copy of the schedule for them. I tried to talk to the girl's softball coach a few weeks ago at a practice session but when he found out I was just a blogger he walked away from me.

From the papers the latest I've learned is that the boys are now at 4 -4 after taking a double header last Saturday from Jefferson Christian. It was like the Christians and the Lions, or in this case the Tigers. Wellsville recorded 32 runs in those two victories. The girls are struggling this year. I think they are still fighting for their first win. I have no idea how the track team is doing - no schedule, no coverage. Do we still have a golf team? See what I mean?

Heard on the news today that United Airlines has decided to step into a politically incorrect sensitive area of dealing with obese passengers. They announced if a passenger is too big to fit in a coach class seat they will have to either buy a ticket for an additional seat or have to upgrade to business class with the larger seats. If you have ever flown anywhere this has always been one of the hazards of flying if you don't have family members in the adjoining seats. Even in coach class you pay dearly for your seat and it's very unpleasant to have some stranger in the next seat overflowing into your space. It may insensitive of me but I don't want to be cheek-to-cheek with a total stranger when I fly. United said they had over 700 complaints filed with them last year. Wonder if the other airlines will follow suit or play the wait & see game?

The Giant Eagle grocery chain has long had their fuelperks! where a customer earns a discount on gas at their Get-Go stations from the amount they spend on groceries. Now they are going to have foodperks! where you can earn discounts on your grocery bill for buying gas at Get-Go. For every 10 gallons you earn a 1% discount on your purchases at Giant Eagle up to a maximum of 20%. Customers still earn foodperks! credit even if they are buying gas at a discounted price from the fuelperks!. Does anyone know if the East Liverpool & Calcutta stores are in the program yet?

Here's one for the tree huggers to chew on. Read today that noted astrophysicists Willie Moon at Harvard told the Harvard Crimsom that "most observed climate data can be explained by fluctuations in solar radiation. That is, sunspot activity, not carbon dioxide, is responsible for the earth's cyclical warming and cooling." Imagine that... Most activists on a mission are obsessive with their beliefs as is some of the so called environmentalist that are trying to get us to believe we are all going to die if Baard gets started. Bet the Sierra Club doesn't mention anything about Mr. Moon's observations.

ole nib