Cellphone ban is good policy to cut down on student distractions | Letters
Regarding, "Students at local school see upside to ban on cellphones," (April 23): When I was a student, passing notes was not allowed. It was a distraction from our task at hand. So is electronic note passing. If I am texting, or my attention is on receiving a text and/or reading one, I'm not paying attention in class.
When I was a student, we sometimes placed our favorite comic book, or Mad Magazine inside of a textbook. Braver souls would sometimes sneak in a girlie magazine. Why would any "helicopter parent" think that electronic entertainment (think TikTok, etc.) is any different, just because it is attached to a phone?
If I had an emergency, the teacher let me go to the office and call home. If there was a home emergency, someone would come to our classroom with a note. Easy Peasy, and no distraction to the rest of my day.
Wesley Hinton, Milford
53 Ohio workers did not come home in 2023
On Workers Memorial Day, April 28, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration remembers and honors all the workers who have lost their lives due to an injury, illness or disease on the job. As we remember the fallen, we reflect on the lasting impact these fatalities have had on families, friends, co-workers and communities at-large, and mourn with all of them.
In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated the workplace fatalities of 53 Ohio workers. Those fatalities occurred across a wide range of industries including construction and general industry.
Worker fatalities are sadly all too frequent in America and a tragic reminder of why better safety and health protections, and heightened awareness and education about workplace hazards are critical. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports approximately 5,486 people died as a result of workplace injuries in 2022.
These tragedies are compounded by the knowledge that most workplace fatalities are preventable when employers follow required safety standards, have proper controls in place and make safety and health programs a priority. Good jobs change lives. And good jobs are safe jobs.
A safe workplace isn’t a privilege; it’s every worker’s right. On Workers Memorial Day and throughout the year, we need to work together to make sure employers embrace safety and health as a core value in their operations so that every worker goes home safely, every day. We also must remember each one of us has a role to play. If you are aware of, or witness workplace dangers — or feel unsafe on the job — don’t ignore the hazards. Speak up and share your concerns with your employer and alert your co-workers when you see them exposed to hazards. If nothing changes, contact your local OSHA office. Reports can be made confidentially.
As we honor those workers unable to come home on Workers Memorial Day, let us all reaffirm our commitment to helping make sure that no one sacrifices their life for a paycheck.
Ken Montgomery is the Area Director for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Cincinnati, Ohio
One-percenters win again with Coney Island closure
Sunlite Pool's closing is pathetic. The one percent wins again. Tens of thousands lose, hundreds win.
Jack Combs, Burlington, Ky.
Ukraine's fight reminiscent of America's battle for freedom
I have been reading and watching the news about whether the United States should give aid to Ukraine and how much that aid should be. At the same time, I have been watching "Franklin" starring Michael Douglas, the biographical drama miniseries about Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. I keep thinking about what might have happened if France did not give America help to gain independence. What would we be today?
Does Ukraine need a Saratoga (the turning-point battle in the Revolutionary War)? They are fighting to remain independent; we were fighting to gain ours. Perhaps Congress needs to review our history.
Richard Robinson, Colerain Township
Future generations less likely to inherit a healthy, sustainable planet
The greatest gift we can give our children and grandchildren on this Earth Day is our solemn pledge that we are doing everything in our power to ensure they will inherit a healthy and sustainable planet. But my generation cannot make that pledge. The likelihood that we will pass on a healthy and sustainable planet to our progeny seems more and more remote by the year.
All environmental indicators are pointed in the wrong direction: 2023 was the hottest year in recorded human history, ocean surface temperatures are rising, glaciers around the world are melting at an alarming rate, and extreme climate events are becoming more common. Dramatic seasonal changes are also occurring: spring arrives earlier and is warmer; summer is hotter and lasts longer; winter arrives later and record-setting daily high temperatures are becoming more common than record lows.
Our burning of fossil fuels is the cause of this crisis. Unless and until we transition to renewable energy, we are dooming our children and their children to a less habitable and more threatening Earth. The first Earth Day was in 1970, more than 50 years ago. Isn’t it time we resolve to do all in our power from this Earth Day on to leave our children and grandchildren a healthy and habitable Earth? Maybe someday, future generations will thank us for our foresight and wisdom.
Stephen Druffel, Clifton
Seitz defends backroom dealers instead of everyday Ohioans
Thank you to Jessie Balmert and Laura Bischoff for the recent in-depth reporting on the First Energy scandal, including the revealing quotes from state Rep. Bill Seitz. As usual, a tone-deaf Ohio legislator defends backroom dealers instead of the everyday Ohioans they are supposed to represent. Rep. Seitz, the real tragedy of this situation is that it's business as usual when Ohio taxpayers get fleeced by Statehouse corruption.
Geoff Wise, Wyoming
Maintenance lacking around Flying Pig sculpture
It recently gave me great pleasure to guide my grandchildren on their first visit to the Smale Riverfront Park for a walk there in the area along the river. Included in our plan was a slight detour to see the famous Flying Pig sculpture at the nearby Bicentennial Commons. Our day was going perfectly until we came within sight of the sculpture. What is left of Andrew Leicester’s famous flying pigs − having had involvement in its acquisition and placement there − saddened me beyond belief. Clearly, no maintenance is being done, and what has been done has only made the sculpture and its setting deteriorate further. What once was a beautiful replica of the Ohio River now serves as an unemptied ashtray, complete with cigarette butts. Dry fountains, tarnished brass, chipped paint, cracked cement and worse have all taken their toll. In Cincinnati’s urgent look to the future, why can’t we venerate our city’s past history at the same time?
James D. Rosenberger, Withamsville
Charter school critics not afraid to compete, but are outraged by deceit
In his April 16 guest column, Republican congressional candidate Orlando Sonza gets it wrong. Critics of Cincinnati Classical Academy are not afraid of "competition," as he claims; however, they are outraged by CCA’s deceit. In its application for a federal grant to expand — a grant financed by America’s taxpayers − CCA misrepresented itself as a school dedicated to serving underserved children, who are defined by the U.S. Department of Education as those who are economically disadvantaged, English language learners, or students with disabilities.
As detailed in a letter to the U.S. Department of Education, CCA enrolls the privileged, not the underprivileged. State records reveal that the enrollment of English language learners was so minimal that their achievement data could not be disclosed to protect student identity. Students with disabilities were enrolled at less than half the rate of the Cincinnati Public Schools. More than 80% of the students in Cincinnati Public Schools were economically disadvantaged compared to fewer than 17% at CCA. Other charter schools in Hamilton County had no issue attracting economically disadvantaged students; their average rate exceeded 85%.
And none of the above numbers have improved post-grant − with the same low proportion of economically disadvantaged students and English language learners. With less than 2% of its students being Black, it is difficult to imagine how the school is meeting the grant requirement not to increase segregation.
Perhaps Sonza did not check the school’s demographics. Nor did he notice that CCA is not located in Cincinnati (whose test scores he disparages) but in the Reading School District − a district that received three stars for student learning growth compared with CCA’s rating of two. He may not know that according to Ohio law, CCA must give enrollment preference to Reading students.
Perhaps he did not read this article about CCA in the Washington Post that explained how, prior to the letter of complaint being sent to the U.S. Department of Education, CCA’s homepage did not say it was a charter school but gave the appearance that it was a tuition-free Christian private academy, with religious images sprinkled throughout a website where nearly all of the featured children were white.
The demographics of CCA did not happen by accident. They happened by design. And it is insulting to parents of color and poverty to pretend that this Hillsdale charter school is designed for them. Candidate Sonza should do his homework before chastising the Cincinnati NAACP and other groups concerned with civil rights who signed the letter of complaint for objecting to what appears to be a white-flight charter school.
Katie Hauer, Mason
Trump never met a court he didn't like until now
Perhaps it is a defect in my nature, but I tend to question much of what I read and often follow up with a fact check. With former President Donald Trump characterizing his current trials and travails with the courts as being "a witch hunt" or "political persecution" at the hands of President Joe Biden, it seemed worthwhile to take a deeper dive into the matter.
According to a rather exhaustive study by USA Today, in the three decades leading up to his 2016 election as President of the United States, then-civilian Trump was involved in 4,095 state and federal court cases. If I do the math correctly, that works out to more than 10 court cases/month for 360 months. Keeping in mind that this was all before he was involved in politics or on anyone’s radar screen to be singled out for political persecution. I’m left to conclude that Trump has never met a lawyer that he didn’t like, as long as that lawyer was working for him. Ditto for the courts.
John Dallman, East End
Call 811 before picking up a shovel for a home project
"I didn't think we would hit anything." Those were the regretful words of a contractor and homeowner as they stared at the natural gas pipe they just ripped out of a concrete driveway with an excavator. The home improvement project turned into an emergency in a matter of seconds, all because they didn’t call 811.
When I arrived on the scene, I immediately contacted emergency responders and organized a team of natural gas technicians to fix the damage. The emergency tied up local firefighters for hours and ended up costing the homeowner thousands for the required repairs.
Every year, Duke Energy responds to thousands of natural gas emergencies caused by excavating projects. It is important that our customers know to call 811 at least three business days before digging begins to have underground lines properly identified and marked. Calling 811 is a free service that prevents injuries, outages and costly repairs before a landscaping or yard project begins.
I’ve been a Duke Energy Natural Gas worker for over seven years. I’m proud to serve my community and make our neighborhoods safer. April is National Safe Digging Month, and I challenge all of you to help keep our homes and families safe by calling 811 every time you pick up a shovel for a project.
Scott Kathman, Monfort Heights
We must fight for America’s founding principles
I would describe myself as a Libertarian. I implore everyone who will be legally voting in November to promote and vote according to our Founding Fathers' principles, regardless of current party politics.
Secure the border and reduce crime. Either by design or incompetence, President Joe Biden has further fueled the crisis on the southern border through a total lack of enforcement of our immigration laws. As a result, crime has soared.
Empower parents to make education choices. Our classrooms are infected by liberal extremists’ woke ideas, all while these elites hide their motives and actions from their students’ parents.
Ensure election integrity. Legitimate voters have a right to vote in privacy and to know their vote will not be lost, stolen, altered, negated by fraud, or cast by a non-citizen or a felon.
Counter the threat from Communist China. The Justice Department estimates China steals $136 million of American intellectual property every day. We must counter Chinese military aggression with prohibitive strength and unwavering resolve. We must stop their domestic espionage and blunt their international influence, using American innovation and economic superiority, and hold them accountable for their human rights atrocities and destructive ideology.
Rein in Big Tech. All too often, Big Tech is an enemy of the people.
Reverse the growth of regulations, spending and inflation. Government spending, regulations, and inflation are a tax on all Americans, especially working families who struggle to make ends meet.
Promote life and the traditional family. The traditional family breakdown and rampant abortion have torn apart the soul of our country and sapped it of its strength and moral authority.
Cliff Woycke, Colerain Township
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: More schools should ban cellphones to reduce distractions | Letters
