Letters to the editor, Nov. 11

Education is League's goal

To the editor:

It was a long, and, in the end, a very remarkable election season. The League of Women Voters of the Oberlin Area is grateful to many individuals and organizations that helped us register and inform voters, and I applaud their hard work and financial support. Please join me in thanking the Office of the President at Oberlin College, the Nord Family Foundation, and the Hispanic Fund of the Community Foundation (Lorain) for their very generous support of our Voters Guide.

Individual contributions came in from people all over Oberlin, to help publish the guide. Thanks to the work of Ken Carpenter and the Oberlin News-Tribune staff, especially the heroic efforts of Ben Simonson as layout/design editor, we compiled and distributed 90,000 English edition copies and 14,000 copies in Spanish. In addition to the News-Tribune, Amherst News-Times and Wellington Enterprise, The Lorain Morning Journal (and its El Latino Expreso), Chronicle Telegram, Rural Urban Record, and La Prensa graciously distributed the Voters Guide throughout the county. Paper distribution was aided by a fleet of volunteers, carrying stacks of the guides to libraries and various public areas. Thanks to Oberlin Public Library director Darren McDonough for coordinating delivery to county libraries, and to June Goodwin for organizing other volunteers.

The Voter Services Committee worked very hard for many months, registering voters and on the guide, and I am thrilled to be in the same association with them. In addition to June, Elizabeth Aldrich, Mary Ashbrook, Carol Ganzel, Judy Riggle, Dina Schoonmaker, Linda Slocum, and Mary Kirtz Van Nortwick gave hours of their time, as did guide editors Maxine Houck and Elizabeth Rumics. Raquel Ortiz Rodriques served as the Spanish edition translator, assisted by proof-readers Yorki Encalada, Helen Shepard, and Mary Ashbrook. There were many more volunteers who staffed the voter registration tables at the public library and at public events throughout the season -- thanks to them all, for assisting voters with scores of questions in addition to registration forms.

The Voters Guide was also published on the league's public website and the Oberlin College internal website for students. Thanks to Martin Buck for maintaining our site and updating voter information links at www.lwvoa.com. Educating voters is essential in a healthy democracy, and the League of Women Voters is dedicated to that effort. We are a group of nearly 90 men and women in Oberlin, and we serve as a non-partisan source of assistance and information for all voters. Won't you join us? Your membership and tax-deductible donations for education efforts would be very welcome. Please contact us through the web site (www.lwvoa.com) or call 775-4582.

Alison Ricker

President, LWVOA

Help orchestra with Italian tour

To the editor:

The Oberlin High School orchestra has the wonderful opportunity to participate in a European Performance Tour in May of 2009. They will travel to Italy and give three concerts in Rome, Florence, and Venice, and will serve as music ambassadors representing the Oberlin schools, the Oberlin community, the state of Ohio, and the USA.

The orchestra has approximately 65 students, and the cost per student exceeds $3,250. Despite all the fundraising efforts and hard work of the students, parents, and friends, this trip will not be possible without the support of the Oberlin community. Every orchestra member is required to raise a portion of the cost, and the family has to contribute according to their ability. No student will be excluded from participating.

This performance tour in Italy will not only be a tremendous musical experience, but also a cultural and educational experience for our young people, and for many a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For additional information, go to www.oberlinschoolorchestras.com.

Please help us raise funds by buying a car raffle ticket. Tickets are $100, and only 500 tickets will be sold. Your chances of winning a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid are one in 500. If not all tickets are sold, it will be a 60/30/10 raffle, with 60 percent of the proceeds going to the high school orchestra.

The price of the ticket is tax-deductible. Please call Ronnie Rimbert at 775-7222, or Sigrid Boe at 775-2591, and we will deliver the tickets to your door.

Ronnie Rimbert

Sigrid Boe

Oberlin

Levy was a vote of confidence

To the editor:

Thank you to Oberlin voters for their support of Issue 28. Their support of Issue 28 and for the hard work of city staff is very much appreciated.

The results of passage of this levy will be seen in 2009 as work begins on the renovation and expansion of the Oberlin Fire Station, with more street maintenance and sidewalk improvements, and with the paving of the parking lot at the Hamilton Street Recreation Complex. We also intend to undertake a parks and recreation master plan during which each resident will have an opportunity share their opinions.

Earlier this year, Oberlin employees established a set of core values. We strive to uphold these values each and every day:

O: Open and honest communication.

B: Being innovative.

E: Excellent and effective services.

R: Respect and appreciation for diversity.

L: Leading by example.

I: Integrity in the stewardship of Oberlin's resources.

N: Neighborly attitude and friendliness.

The "I" in the core values is critical to earning and retaining residents' confidence in the fiscal management of our city. We feel one reason voters strongly supported Issue 28 is that the City of Oberlin has a proven track record of fiscal responsibility and accountability. We intend to continue earning their trust as we pursue the projects to be funded by Issue 28. If ever anyone feels we are missing the mark, please let us know.

Thank you, again, for support of Issue 28.

David Sonner, council president

Eric Norenberg, city manager

Fire chief thanks voters

To the editor:

On Nov. 4, Oberlin residents approved Issue 28 -- an income tax for the provision of capital improvement programs. A portion of this levy will provide a funding for the renovation and expansion of the existing fire station -- a project crucial to support the fire department's mission of emergency services for residents. These improvements will ensure compliance with firefighter safety and health requirements and provide for the operational needs of the fire department well into the future.

On behalf of all Oberlin firefighters, we thank the community for its support for this project, and promise to be there whenever they need us most.

Dennis Kirin

Fire chief