Letters to the Editor_________________

Why the switch from Vectren to IGS?

I seem to have missed a memo somewhere. Is the City of Oakwood endorsing the program to move away from Vectren as the natural gas provider? I’ve recently received a letter giving me until August 28th days to opt-out of a program that will change my natural gas service. According to the terms (as I understand them) the price per CCF is guaranteed to be about four and half cents less than what I’m paying now (big deal). At least until March 2010, after which the price could go to anything plus Local Utility BTU conversion, administrative fees, NGDC transportation, applicable taxes, and other charges.

Now I’m admittedly not an expert in energy commodity markets, but my instincts tell me that when people who are in that business (like IGS) claim that they’re doing me a favor by locking me into some kind of structured-rate-plan, I should be suspicious. Furthermore, I am being told participation requires me to send my payment somewhere else, but what really galls is that the responsibility has been placed on me to “opt-out” of a program that I didn’t even want in the first place!

How many times do I have to specify this? Vectren is my gas provider. DP&L is my electricity provider. Please stop asking and don’t lump me into an opt-out program like this again.

Chris Shamis
Oakwood

Proposed .5 mill levy will maintain services

In two recent articles printed in the Register, the reporters have missed the mark when describing the November ballot issue for Wright Library. The question before the voters will be a .5 mill additional levy for operating expenses of Wright Library. The request is in response to the cut in state funding for public libraries. Ohio’s support for public libraries is expected to be 30 percent lower in 2009-2010 than it was in 2008. This will cause Wright Library’s revenue from state funding to be between $350,000 and $400,000 less than before. A .5 mill levy would bring the level of local support for Wright Library up from 16 percent to 29 percent. The Dayton Metro Library now gets 30 percent of its revenue from a local levy (which may increase to 50 percent with the passage of their November ballot issue) and Washington-Centerville Library currently receives 53 percent of its income from a local library levy.

Wright Library already has a .94 mill levy, which expires in 2012. City of Dayton residents will be voting on a 1.75 mill levy (1.25 mill replacement, plus .5 mill additional) for the Dayton Metro Library this fall. Washington Township-Centerville residents pay 2.70 mills for their library.

The impact of a .5 mill levy on a taxpayer would be an additional $1.46 per month for each $100,000 of assessed real estate value. The additional millage will not replace all of the lost state funding, but will provide enough additional revenue to maintain library services at a sustainable level.

I encourage anyone with questions about the library’s programs, services, or finances to get in touch with me at Wright Library.

Best regards,

Ann Snively
Director
Wright Memorial Public Library

The kindness of strangers

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the kind gentleman and lady who stopped on Far Hills Avenue last Wednesday and helped me get up from a bad fall. I had hit my head from the fall and was partly conscious. The gentleman got out of the car and said “Give me your hand, I will help you up, give me your hand.” He did help me get up and my daughter came and helped me inside. I do remember when my daughter was helping me back into the house that the couple was watching to make sure I got inside alright. I had a slight concussion and am still sore from the fall but am otherwise getting better every day. I would like to thank that couple as they were most kind and very helpful. I am from the South and expect that kind of treatment.

Hannah “Sugar” Zappin
Oakwood

No excuse for word use

I was shocked and offended by the casual and humorous use of the term “brain dead” in the recent article by Niel Lorenz. Her quips, “Being brain dead makes life so much easier” and, “It is August and I am totally, happily, legally brain dead” show total insensitivity to every individual who has ever been faced with the decision of whether or not to terminate life support for a loved one who has been pronounced “brain dead” by medical personnel. In this day and age, there is no excuse for such flippant and tasteless writing – especially by a regular contributor to the Register.

Susan Gardstrom, Ph.D
2754 Fairmont Ave
Oakwood