Accident shows the dangers of drinking and driving

To some drinking and driving may seem like no big deal, but students and residents in Green got a loud wakeup call this past weekend. On Friday evening three freshmen girls and a Green graduate from 2010 were involved in a horrible car accident near Dayton, Ohio. The girls were hit head on by a drunk driver who was driving on the wrong side of the road. Paige Sands, the driver was able to walk away from the accident, but the three freshmen girls weren’t so lucky. Thankfully all are expected to recover, but it will take time.
The moment I heard about this story I thought to myself what a horrible occurrence. I personally don’t know any of the girls, but still my thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families. I really feel bad for these students’ parents who got that horrible call at 2 AM. Those are the kind of phone calls no one ever wants to receive. Paige deserves a lot of credit as she did her best to try to avoid the oncoming car. This was one of those things where you see the car coming and the next thing you know it is over. There really is no time to react in a situation like this. Thankfully an Army private who was in front of them stopped and helped pull the girls out of the car before it exploded. This shows that heroes are out there.
This accident really shows how dangerous it can be to drink and drive. It seem as though the woman who was drunk that hit the girls didn’t take into consideration the danger. Maybe she didn’t even think about it considering this is her fourth DUI incident. If you have been drinking, don’t even attempt to drive no matter the distance. There is no point of putting others in danger just because you think you can make it home safely. Over the next few weeks keep these girls and their families in your thoughts and prayers because they have been through a horrible experience.

Construction could be worse in Green

619 / Arlington Project

You are probably asking yourself how the construction could be any worse in Green. I will admit there has been a lot of construction throughout the city this year, but I personally don’t think it has been that bad. Sure there has been that occasional backup on Arlington or Massillon Road, but what you expect when construction is being done. The two major projects that are underway in the city are the State Route 619 and Arlington intersection project, and the Massillon Road sanitary project. The Massillon Road project is expected to be completed towards the end of September and the 619 project won’t be done until late 2011.
Last year before the 619 project began I told myself that I was going to avoid that intersection while work was being done. I had the feeling that traffic was going to be backed up for miles and it would take forever to get through the intersection. Once work started I decided to go that way anyways and I was surprised how quick I made it through. Work at the intersection has been on the sides and two lanes of traffic have been maintained at all times, which is important. You can tell that this project was thought out and well planned because there have only been small traffic disruptions. All of the road closures have been done at night when less traffic is near the intersection.

Massillon Road Project

As far as the Massillon Road project, it has not gone as well. The first stages of sewer installation went well south of Wise Road. One lane of traffic was maintained at all times and a temporary traffic signal was setup. Now crews are in the process of milling the road near Interstate 77 and there have been major traffic issues. I have received multiple complaints and Green Mayor Dick Norton has also. People always ask me why this is being done during the day rather than at night. Very few construction companies work at night and night work is normally only done on state funded projects. Paving is expected to begin on Massillon Road soon and Mayor Norton said most of the paving will be done at night so that less traffic disruptions occur.
Believe it or not there were plans to do construction on Caston Road also, but that project has been moved to next year. Could you imagine having another road torn up? I agree having Arlington and Massillon Road torn up at once is a bit much because they are two of the main roads that run through Green. This has been a busy construction season but once all these projects are complete, traffic will be flowing terrific.

We don’t realize how good our lives really are

Sometimes you really have to stop and think about how good we have it in life. Sure sometimes things don’t go as planned or you are unable to purchase something you want, but everything seems to always work out. While I was in Tennessee I had a chance to go up into the mountains and see some real historic sites. As I sat in an old church that was used in the early 1900’s it occurred to me just how much life has changed over the years. Inside the church there was a man who told us may interesting facts about the way life used to be. For young adults and teenagers it is difficult to imagine not having television or cell phones.
I think often we get carried away when something doesn’t go our way. I will admit that I have gotten upset over silly things that were just a temporary inconvenience to us. Maybe the internet is down or you get a flat tire on the way home from work. These are small things in life that we shouldn’t get upset over. Take into consideration that many people before our time walked wherever they needed to go. There was no local store in town to buy milk and bread, you made your own from scratch. Times have surely changed because many daily tasks are much easier for us now compared to 100 years ago. We should be grateful for how simple our lives really are. Just think if you had to make everything from scratch every day. Life wouldn’t be so simple would it?
So the next time something doesn’t go your way, consider the way things used to be and keep in mind how good we really got it. I know this recent experience has really got me thinking about how good of a life we live every day. Be thankful to have everything you do because it sure wasn’t that way in the past.

Supreme Court ruling on speeding estimate is ridiculous

Sometimes you really have to stop and wonder just how stupid the Ohio Supreme Court is. The recent Supreme Court ruling that says police officers can ticket you by a visual estimation of speed is just ridiculous. Now I am all in favor of cracking down and catching speeders, but this is no way of doing it. Explain to me how a police officer can look at a car and estimate how fast it is moving? He cannot. Sure you might be able to say that car is moving faster than the speed limit, but it is impossible to tell the exact speed a car is moving. Even police officers that have been well-trained say that there is no way they would be able to determine the speed of a car with the naked eye. All that is going to come of this is angry drivers that claim they were going much slower than what the officer thinks. Of course it really won’t matter what you say because it will be impossible to fight a ticket. It would be the officer’s word against yours and you pretty much know who is going to win that fight.
If Ohio is so worried about speeders why don’t we put some money to good use and hire more police officers. Cracking down on speeders is something the police defiantly need to do more of because there are plenty of idiots that think they can drive 10-15 miles over the speed limit and not get caught. Shift the focus to speeders and don’t bother pulling someone over for not having their lights on while running their windshield wipers. Did you know you must have your lights on if you are running your windshield wipers? If you fail to do so the police can pull you over for this, but if you ask me there are many other more important issues on the roads that should be addressed first. 
Maybe next week the Ohio Supreme Court will decide police can sit in donut shop and look out the window and catch speeders.  Let the police stick to their radar guns and throw this ridiculous idea in the trash because it is not going to benefit anyone.

How far is too far when it comes to lamb prank

Did Green High School seniors go a step too far when they decided to steal two lambs from a farm and places them inside a court yard? That is the big question that is being asked. The two lambs were spray painted and had 2010 written on them. Senior pranks are said to be funny and something students and staff will remember forever. I would have to say most students will remember looking out towards the court yard and seeing a lamb running around. It ends up the lambs were only three days old and were stolen from a farm in North Canton. It is believed that the students used a ladder to go onto the school roof and then they lowered the lambs into the court yard.
Now let’s set a few facts straight. There was definitely more than one person involved in this prank. Also what they did was wrong because the students stole these lambs from a farm. Theft is classified as a misdemeanor crime and is not taken lightly. Now I know the students didn’t mean any harm, but they did put these lambs in danger because they were only three days old and being that young they need to stay by their mother’s side. Plus spray painting any animal is not very smart at all.
Now I am sure you are thinking to yourself that these kids were just trying to have a little fun as senior year came to a close, but what they did was wrong and they deserve to be punished. Read through the comments on Ohio.com and you will be surprised by what some are saying. One person suggested the students involved should have to spend one night in jail. Now that is a little harsh, but make them do community service or take exams because they sure do deserve to be punished.
When I heard about this prank I didn’t even crack a smile. I find nothing at all funny about it and I think what they did is just stupid. Some may find this prank funny but I personally along with many others are not laughing. A senior prank is supposed to be something that won’t harm anything or anyone but still make people laugh. It is pretty clear the students involved with this prank were not thinking straight. Some may call it a prank but I call it a crime.

Kent State College Fest always gets out of hand

One thing that is certain is that college kids like to party. Each year as the annual Kent State College Fest rolls around usually things get out of hand. Now this year was nothing compared to last year when the event got way out of control. Last year little red balls had to be fired towards the students just to get them to settle down. The Kent Stater reported that at least 31 people were arrested at this year’s event.
This year’s event included the usual as student’s yelled profanity towards the police and wouldn’t end their party until the police forced them to. I mean what do you expect out of a bunch of drunk college students at a party?
I applaud the Kent Police Department for ending this event earlier than most years because the last thing you want is another repeat of what happened last year. Now I understand that these students want to have fun and party, but there is a fine line between a party under control and one that is not. There is no need to do stupid stuff like set things on fire and smash glass bottles in the street. What are you proving by doing this? Nothing, it is just acting stupid and showing you cannot handle being at a party. I know many people always say that the police just ruin parties but their job is to keep you safe and keep things under control. You shouldn’t have to look at the police as “bad guys” because if you are doing nothing wrong you won’t get in any trouble. Those doing wrong are always the ones that view the police as the “bad guys” and are usually the ones that get arrested at the end of the night.
College Fest is a terrific event for those who know how to handle it. In the years to come the police need to do what they did this year because it worked out very well and kept things under control.

That dark tan may haunt you someday

Sometimes the sun is hard to find in Northeastern Ohio especially during the winter months. Sure the sun comes out in the winter, but it is never warm enough to enjoy and get a tan. So many adults and teenagers find themselves soaking in artificial light at the local tanning salon. Many people know the risk that comes with tanning, but some are clueless. The biggest risk that comes with tanning is skin cancer. Now you’re not going to get skin cancer from being in the sun for a few hours each week, but those who choice to go to a tanning salon day after day will. The big question has been if real sunlight or artificial sunlight is more dangerous. No studies have really given us clear-cut answers to that but face it, tanning in general is dangerous. Sure it looks nice and may help you get a date for the prom, but in the long run you are not benefiting at all.
Keep in mind that you live in Ohio and most people know that you are not going have a dark tropical tan in December. Consider all that money you are spending to go tanning because it is not a cheap visit. Plus President Barack Obama recently passed the health care bill which will place a 10% tax on tanning places starting July 1, 2010. Personally I have no problem with this tax because it is simply a push to show people how dangerous indoor tanning is. Some states have gone as far as requiring you to be 18 or older to enter a tanning bed. If you ask me there is nothing wrong with these precautions because they are just trying to prevent teens from tanning at a young age. Now really there is no safe age to tan but younger teens have the best chance of doing damage to their skin in the future.
Now I am not saying you should never go tanning or lie out in the sun, but be smart about it. Limit your time and use sunscreen and you will still have a tan and prevent yourself from running into problems down the road. Tanning is not a joking matter because some people will pay for their poor choices they made as a teenager. Take into consideration the risks unless you want to end up with skin cancer in future.

Easter is here

Can you believe Easter Sunday is this weekend? The holidays always seem to sneak up on us if we are ready or not. It seems like we know for months that a holiday is coming up, but then all of sudden it is like the next day. To some Easter is eating ham. To others it is going on an Easter egg hunt and going to church. Easter is a special holiday that is great for spending time with your family and friends. Set aside the ham, Easter baskets, egg hunts, and spend time with your family. It is important to go to church on Easter, but set aside the rest of the day to spend it with people you love and care about.
Personally for me Easter has changed a lot over the past few years. It used to be I would get up and go to church and then come home and look through my Easter basket. Then my mom always cooked a meal at home before we went and visited my grandparents. My Uncle Mike always hid eggs and we would find them later in the day on Easter. Now things are much different as Easter egg hunts no longer exist and I have no grandparents to visit. This year will be the first Easter without my grandma, but I will get through it just like I did at Christmas.
I hope everyone has a very Happy Easter with their family and friends.

Controversial topics bring the most readers

Some often wonder when I go to write a column how I decide what to write it on. Many reporters and columnists have stacks of ideas on topics to write on, but that is not the case for me. Almost every column I write I come up with the idea out of thin air. Now sure at times there is something going on in the area which fuels my ideas for a column. Most of the times I will be just having a normal day when suddenly an idea pops into my head and I tell myself, “hey I should write a column on that”. Now just because I think it is a good idea doesn’t mean everyone is going to want to read it. I strongly take into consideration the fact of if people will read the story or not. Why would I want to waste my time on something that no one is going to read? No one will probably read this one, just kidding.
So what kind of columns do people like to read? The answer to that is simple, controversial ones. Controversial columns seem to get everyone fired up because people have opinions when it comes to a hot issue. Readers are always interested to see just what the writer has to say about that certain subject. Over the past few years I have written many columns on many interesting issues and I thought it would be fun to share those that brought the most readers.
In 2007 I launched a blog to post my articles on and it has a feature that lets me know how many people read a certain story. Now I personally don’t get 1000’s of views, but I am pleased with a couple hundred on each story. The most read story on my blog so far is the one I wrote when I applied for a job at Air Enterprises. The second most read story was about crime in Akron and how Mayor Don hasn’t addressed the issue. Finally the third most read story was about the Green school levy. As you can see one of these columns was about a personal happening compared to the other two were about issues. There are tons of others stories that people also viewed, but the three listed above were the ones that people enjoyed reading.
In general the amount of viewers has doubled since this time last year mainly because of social media. Facebook and Twitter have really helped me out in a good way. They both allow me to post links to the column right on my profile page. Then all viewers have to do is click on the link and it takes them right to the story. Social media is great because it allows my friends to see my writing. As technology continues to improve I am sure more and more people will be able to read my columns.
The key to column writing is to make it interesting because that is what brings viewers. Most of all I have fun writing columns and I plan to write many more great ones in the coming years.

Father Schleicher, a priest I will never forget

When I found out that Father Schleicher had passed away; memories of him instantly started running through my mind. For my entire life Father Schleicher had been a priest at Saint Francis, so I heard a lot of his homilies. It seemed as if every homily pointed to one thing, taking time out of your day to talk to God. He always said even if everyone would just take 10 minutes out of their day to talk to God. Every homily normally started with a joke or just a funny statement about faith, which brought a good chuckle and a smile to many faces. One thing that I always liked about his homilies was that he always connected what he was talking about with real life. I personally think it is important to try to connect faith with real life as much as possible and this was something Father Schleicher did well. I will never forget the first time he had to use a stool to sit on during his homily. He said that you start out in a high chair as a baby and then you end your life by sitting in a high chair. All of the homilies he told are great memories that we can all cherish for the rest of our lives.
When I walked into the church on Sunday for the calling hours all I could think about was all the times I saw Father Schleicher standing in the back of the church greeting people after mass. I thought to myself that he will never be able to do that again, but he sure has shaken his share of hands. As I walked by the casket I looked over at the boy next me who looked like he was taking it hard. You really have to stop and think about all the school kids that Father Schleicher talked to over the years. I can understand that it will be tough for many of the school children who enjoyed talking with him. I remember for his birthday the school children would always make him cards and he would share them in his homily. Some of the things the children wrote in the cards were hilarious and he always loved reading them.
Father Schleicher is sure going to be missed, but there are tons of great memories to remember him by. He defiantly served his time and helped lead many people into the Catholic Church. I will never forget him because he taught me many important things about my faith.