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Of pass interference and alleged "fake" injuries
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No. 1 Akron to play Stanford next
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Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
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Audio: Mangini disputes Poteat call, accuses Lions of faking injuries
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DeShawn Clay commits to Kent State basketball
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
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Buckeye Football – Present and Future
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Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
The Onion, By Any Other Name…
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Will Health Care Reform Pass?
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Health Care Financing Reform: (70) Savings in Medicare Advantage
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TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
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Faye Dunaway to be Evicted?
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Monique asks how to get tickets for the Polar Express.
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Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why I am Glad I live in NEO
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Published on Friday, Apr 25, 2008
In Ed Davidian's April 9 letter, ''Stop the power grab for the Summit GOP,'' he asserts, like many Alex Arshinkoff supporters have, that the movement of the New Summit Republicans is all part of some vast conspiracy between state Sen. Kevin Coughlin, Summit County Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Jones and the law firm Roetzel & Andress.
Regardless of Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's admission that she chose not to appoint Arshinkoff-backed Brian Daley to the Summit Board of Elections based in part on Jones' recommendation, the movement to unseat Arshinkoff as party chairman is a far different issue.
The fact that both Coughlin and Jones want Arshinkoff gone is not a conspiracy. It is a reasonable response as a result of both of them knowing Arshinkoff. Coughlin and the rest of the New Summit Republicans want him gone because they have seen firsthand the liability he has become to our candidates and party.
Not surprisingly, the majority of those actively involved in the New Summit Republicans are not ''rogue Republicans'' but those who have been heavily involved in the Summit County Party and one-time friends of Arshinkoff. They saw the error of his ways and chose to stand up for what is right by refusing to follow the bully on our playground any longer.
Likewise Jones, after working closely with Arshinkoff for decades, saw the liability and extreme partisanship he brought to the board of elections and stood up for ending his partisan bullying, thereby recommending that Brunner appoint an anti-Arshinkoff Republican instead.
Don Varian is, and has always been, a devoted member of the GOP, who at one time worked for the national party. Just because Jones respects him does not make Varian a Democrat. It is ridiculous to deem this some great conspiracy run by Jones and the Democrats. Jones is quite aware that it would be much better for the Democrats for Arshinkoff to remain in power, so that every local election can result the same way the Cuyahoga Falls clerk's race did this past fall.
However, Jones took a stand when it came to the board because he could not allow Arshinkoff's partisanship to destroy the chance for fair elections and bipartisan cooperation at a place it is crucial. In contrast, the New Summit Republicans want Alex gone so that we can regroup, refocus, get our finances in order and start giving Jones and his Democrats a run for their money again when it comes to control of Summit County. The conspiracy here? Two honorable men standing up for what is right, regardless of the political consequences.
So what that Jones and Pete Kostoff work in the same law firm or that Jones is friends with Kim and Cheryl Hoover. If Mary Matalin and James Carville managed to be married and at the same time run separate sides of a presidential race with no great political conspiracy or breach of security taking place, I think we too can manage here in Summit County politics.
Corinne H. Six
Cuyahoga Falls
Arshinkoff unfairly
assaulted
I have been a member of the Summit County Republican Central Committee and a booth worker in Coventry Precinct E for many years. I can attest to the fact that most people in this area are either Democrats or independents. With only 11 percent of the voters registered as Republicans, it's an amazing tribute to our chairman, Alex Arshinkoff, that Republicans are ever voted into office, let alone the many who have gone on to win statewide.
For Daniel Dismuke (in his April 21 letter ''Change in leadership isn't betrayal of GOP'') to suggest that it's Arshinkoff's fault that more people aren't registered as Republican is ridiculous. My mother was a Republican and my father was a Democrat, but in 31 years of marriage, she wasn't able to convince him to change.
I'm astonished at the sneaky and disgusting campaign that has been waged against Arshinkoff, who has devoted his entire life to making this county's party one of the strongest in the nation. Wayne Jones (who runs the Summit County Democratic Party) has been trying to get rid of Arshinkoff for years and has found a willing dupe in Kevin Coughlin (who can't stay in his Republican state Senate office because of term limits) to help him destroy the Summit County Republican party.
Instead of Kevin Coughlin saying, ''I think I can do a better job, and here's why,'' the most vicious and under-handed tactics are being used.
After the coup failed to get enough new people voted onto the Central Committee to vote against Arshinkoff, this group has waged war by a letter-writing campaign to try to cast doubts about Arshinkoff's character and accomplishments to try to persuade long-time members to vote against him.
I've gotten as many as three letters a day, one that was anonymous and 22 pages long and extremely vile and filthy, and full of outright lies and distortions. Some of these letters have even made me have doubts until I received letters stating the truth.
And of course, the Democratic Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, testified under oath to the Ohio Supreme Court that Wayne Jones (who gave her thousands of dollars for her campaign) told her to take Arshinkoff off the elections board and who should replace him. By getting rid of our strong and capable leader who has accomplished so much for the Republican Party, Jones wants to allow the Democrats unopposed reign in Summit County.
Most recently I received a letter purportedly from Carol Klinger's daughter touting her accomplishments. In this letter, there was a list of things she did ''simultaneously,'' and insisting that she could handle being the manager of financial analysis for over 750 Goodyear stores, continue to be on the Cuyahoga Falls City Council and also be the Republican Party chairman.
However, I'm sure her job at Goodyear takes more than 40 hours of work every week, so why does she insist that she can also handle another full-time job, that of chairman, which will take more than 40 hours per week as the presidential election approaches?
She finally told the truth in the April 20 Beacon Journal article, (''Klinger would keep her positions at Goodyear and on Falls council. She said she would have others run the party day-to-day.'' Can you guess who?
I pray that the other members of the Summit County Republican Party Central Committe will see through all the lies, understand the truth and join me in voting for Arshinkoff at the meeting on Wednesday at Tangier.
Pamela Wayland
Akron
Why wait? Go for
solar-powered recovery
I was born and raised in the Akron area and moved away when I went to college. I remember a day when I was a senior in high school and 3,000 employees of Goodyear were laid off in 1981. The jobs kept going and kept going and my parents would say, ''It'll turn around.'' Seventeen years have passed and the jobs haven't come back.
Why wait for the government to do something about it? What is the local, regional and state government doing about it, anyway?
My idea is for someone who is a philanthropist, who believes in ''green'' energy, to raise some venture capital. Why not rip down those old empty tire factories and build brand new, mass production solar-panel plants?
Make solar power available and affordable for everyone. Mass producing solar panels would create thousands of jobs. Factory workers, sales people, transportation, mold and die work, secretaries, executive positions, etc.
The land is already zoned industrial. The land is ''dirt cheap'' compared to the rest of the United States. And there's water in Akron. And lots of it.
Has anyone tried something like this?
My grandfather was an immigrant who worked for Goodyear in 1918 when Akron was a boom town. It saddens me to see boarded-up buildings in downtown Akron. I believe ''it'll turn around,'' but we need new industry.
Tricia (Massoud) Kubisiak
Crested Butte, Colo.
Happy days are gone
Upon turning 60 years of age, I realized that I have lived through America's greatest times.
I heard the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speak, watched Neil Armstrong walk on the Moon, and lived the ''happy days'' of going to the malt shop and playing Little League baseball.
I saw Ted Williams bat, Muhammad Ali box and Wayne Gretsky skate. I had the same job for 30 years — teaching. It provided a sense of accomplishment and financial security and, now, a pension for my retirement years.
What I see for my country in the next 60 years makes me shudder.
America has lost its worldwide respect. We will eventually become sobogged down by our own problems that we will no longer be the leader of the free world. The financial future of future generations has been compromised beyond repair. Even sports fans will have to wonder whether their favorite superstars have undergone genetic alterations.
Can this situation be changed? I wish Sens. Barack Obama, John McCain and Hillary Clinton luck, but I don't think it can.
Ken Hoehn
Sagamore Hills
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