Good guys and bad guys

by M. Stewart
East Liverpool residents should be following the proceedings of the lawsuit filed by the East Liverpool Landlords Association against the city. Both the Morning Journal and The Review carry stories today on Thursday’s hearing in Lisbon.

This conflict has been brewing for a long time. Several years ago I was approached by a Calcutta realtor who wanted me to write an exposé on East Liverpool’s “unfair” and “excessive” fee for landlords doing business in the city. At the time, the fee was $10 per unit, but the city was threatening to double it to a whopping $20.

By the time the conversation was over, I had come to understand just how serious the problem was—not the fee or the alleged “discriminatory” city inspection practices, but how arrogant, well-to-do township residents were exploiting my town by milking the county poverty system. It was then that I began to comprehend how the “poverty racket” works.

I passed on doing the story, but I came away from the interview with a conviction that one of East Liverpool’s biggest problems is caused by these out-of-town landlords, whose only interest in the city is exploitation and profit. As long as they can conspire to keep property values (and the tax base) far below average, they will continue to profit. As to the consequences for the city, why should they care? They don’t live here.

I wonder just how many members of the East Liverpool Landlords Association actually reside in the city. Any of them? Maybe Mr. Payne should have asked that question during the hearing to provide a context. Though I do not know the answer, I would be willing to bet that few, if any, live here. If I'm way off-base, someone can set me straight by providing a list of names and addresses. I'm willing to eat crow if necessary.

While not everyone who owns rental property in the city falls into the slumlord category, this lawsuit is ultimately about much more than a few dollars in annual fees. It’s about whether the courts will support the unbridled exploitation of the county’s entrenched poverty infrastructure. It's definitely a good guys vs. bad guys situation. Let’s hope Judge Pike doesn’t let the bad guys win.

A few things ...

by M. Stewart
A recent story in The Review listed various unsolved murders in the county, including that of Mike Williams, who was killed two years ago.

I have been asked to remind our readers about Belinda Puchajda’s interest in starting a support group for families who have lost a loved one to homicide. Puchajda is a cousin of Mike Williams. Anyone interested in such a support group can reach her at 330-424-5603 or mom2zack@peoplepc.com

It can’t be easy to know that the person responsible for killing a loved one is walking around scot-free. Although nothing can bring back the deceased, family members of homicide victims often are desperate for any promise of closure. As the general public is apt to lose interest in a homicide once it fades from the headlines, such is not the case for the victim’s family.

On a different topic . . .

Most people know that I have been screening ORL comments for quite some time. Even so, I post 99 percent of all comments received—albeit some in edited form. Lately I’ve rejected a number of comments from a few posters attempting to flame the site using any number of different screen names. Some of those comments have been blatantly libelous; others are merely distasteful, offensive, or just plain stupid.

Editorial review is an important part of maintaining the quality of any publication, including this one. Those few people who have expressed indignation over rejection of their stupid comments are of no concern to me. It takes very little of my time to send their garbage to the trashcan. My concern is for the vast majority of ORL readers, who benefit from comment filtering by not having to see the rantings of les miserables—those whose only purpose is to force their personal demons on others.

Naturally, all editorial decisions are mine, and I make no apology for them. However, regular readers and posters should rest assured that I make every effort to provide maximum latitude on the comment pages, and I never reject comments merely because I disagree with a point of view. However, I have absolutely no intention of providing an anonymous platform for every mean-spirited simpleton with access to a computer. That’s not what this site is about.

Yet another . . .

The Pittsburgh Penguins displayed drawings Wednesday of the team’s new home, tentatively called Pittsburgh Arena. The new building will replace Mellon Arena, the only home the NHL team has ever known.

I do not fully comprehend the need to retire the “Igloo,” but I guess Pens management knows what it’s about. And I’m sure it’s no mere coincidence that the architects for the new building, HOK Sport, are from Kansas City—the city that came very close to stealing the Penguins franchise from Pittsburgh.

Good news from KSU

by M. Stewart
The Review reports today that “Kent State University’s East Liverpool campus has announced record enrollment numbers this fall, following several years of steady growth.” As an employee of the university, naturally I am pleased with this news, but all of us who live in East Liverpool and the entire Tri-State Area should be proud of the university’s success.

As the campus extends its reach with new programs and property acquisitions, it is a major player in the city’s growth and relevance in the area. Everyone should realize the extent to which the university is committed to the community—especially since in many college towns, stark divisions exist between the agendas of “town and gown.”

For instance, when I worked at a small liberal arts college in Virginia, I was always stunned by the attitude of the college toward the city. Yes, a handful of local students did attend the college, but the primary recruitment focus was on out-of-state kids with wealthy parents. Students rarely ventured far from the insular campus, and there was a marked social and physical distinction between the college and town. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that no such barriers exist here.

Along those lines, we should not underestimate the importance of the downtown location of the KSU-EL campus. Let’s be thankful for those who had the vision 40 years ago to establish what was then a “branch campus” in the city. After all, the university could have found a “more convenient” location in the suburbs, as it did in Salem.

For those of you who do not know, the whole “branch campus” concept has gone by the boards. Within the university community, the Kent campus is no longer referred to as “main campus.” Instead, KSU is an eight-campus system, with each campus maintaining its own regional identity. While there is no denying that Kent is the administrative center and by far the largest of the campuses, the regional (as opposed to “branch”) model puts a slightly different spin on how the system functions.

The relationship between KSU Salem and East Liverpool has been enhanced by the sharing of administrators and staff, the most significant of which is the appointment of Dr. Jeff Nolte as dean of both Columbiana County campuses. Beyond economics, an important advantage of this strategy—one whose significance can only increase as time goes by—is that the two campuses now operate more as blood kin rather than competitors. My hope is that the arrangement will help begin the process of erasing the county’s infamous Mason-Dixon Line.

In the bigger picture, the level of cooperation between the university and other educational, political, and business entities is clearly on the rise, and nothing is more important for the future of our area than cooperation.

With the proliferation of players in the education marketplace, students have more choices than ever before. That our local university continues to grow in the face of increasing competition shows a strong sense of adaptability and resolve. So I hope you will join me in welcoming today’s good news. Even if you have no obvious connection to Kent State East Liverpool, its success is your success. We’re all in this together.

Nash Met

A Nash Metropolitan on display at Saturday's Liverpool, England birthday celebration. Our family owned one of these cars for a brief time in the early 1960s. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Where is all this death?

by M. Stewart
On Friday, a friend of mine from Lisbon came down to East Liverpool for a visit, and because it was terribly hot and humid and we had a couple of hours to kill, we decided to drive around the city in air-conditioned comfort to some areas that he had not seen.

We drove down River Road to the East End (Ohio Avenue, St. George, Mulberry) and then up Pennsylvania Avenue to Klondike and from there over the PA border to Smith’s Ferry. On the way back we hit Dixonville, Parkway, Park Boulevard and many of the residential districts off St. Clair Avenue. Then we took a walk through Riverview Cemetery before heading home.

Although I felt a bit silly playing the “tour-guide,” our little excursion made me look at things that I often don’t notice. The standard song is that East Liverpool is a dying town in an advanced state of decay. There are many people out there who, for whatever reason, want or need the “dead town” myth to be true so badly that they purposely disregard the reality of the city.

The fact is that there is a virtually uninterrupted line of successful businesses and industries from the moment you enter the city at the Pennsylvania line. In the East End alone we have: S.H. Bell, Hall China, Grand Ford, Sanford Plumbing, Von Roll WTI, Nickles Bakery, Wallover Oil, the County Port Authority, Riverview Greenhouse, D.W. Dickey & Son, a roof truss supplier, doctors’ offices, a supermarket, drive-thrus, taverns, discount stores, gas stations, and many other businesses.

River Road between the East End and downtown is about river commerce and materials handling/storage. Past the Broadway Wharf are Mason Color and Parsons Coal. Away from the river you have Kent State University, City Hospital, Buckeye Online School for Success, New Life Academy, The Review, Carnegie Library, the YMCA, National City Bank, Crockery City Antique Mall, Locke’s and LeRoy’s jewelers, the Lou Holtz Hall of Fame and the Museum of Ceramics, Milligan’s Hardware, and scores of other small businesses, restaurants, taverns and markets. Our city park is one of the most beautiful in the country, and the Ohio River connects us to the world.

Where is all this death?

No, the downtown isn’t what it once was, but nothing is what it once was. Change is inevitable. Most of East Liverpool’s retail businesses moved to the suburbs or were pushed out by the lure of cheap Chinese goods and fast food in Calcutta. The old downtowns were based on an entirely different model of supply and distribution. What is truly remarkable is that East Liverpool has done as well as it has. Under the circumstances, it’s holding its own. Of course there are problems and challenges, but who can escape such things?

As an old town, Liverpool has a variety of neighborhoods reflecting a wide scope of socio-economic and physical conditions. Like any real city, there are some bad streets with shaky people, but these are hardly typical. Those who insist otherwise simply don’t know what they’re talking about, they have an agenda that leads them to deliberately distort the truth, or they just aren’t familiar with the entire city.

How we think about this stuff depends largely upon our personal values and point of view. Obviously, I see little of interest in the cinder-block suburban shopping area, while others seem to love and crave it. It’s good that we don’t all like the same things, and everything has its place. But let’s take care not to distort reality to carry out some twisted agenda designed solely to put others down. Many of us who live in East Liverpool are proud of our town and feel good about living here. If that offends some people, perhaps they should ask themselves why.

Especially now that the Homer Laughlin house is biting the dust, many are expressing concern over the loss of historic properties and the propagation of parking lots. First of all, anyone who wishes to purchase and restore a historic property is free to do so. These things don’t happen by themselves.

What does happen by itself is decay and urban blight. The old story of “somebody oughta do something” is all too familiar. Entropy cannot be stopped, only delayed. Even so, it takes money to keep an old building in good standing. Having well-maintained historic buildings is a luxury that few towns can afford unless people with money step forward and invest. Yes, it’s true: Once a historic building is razed, it’s gone forever, but those of us who care about history must put our money where our mouths are. There is no other way.

As for the parking lots, the lure of suburban shopping is at least partially due to plenty of free and easy parking. If the old downtowns are going to compete with the ‘burbs, they must offer as much off-street parking as possible. Again, it’s a damned-if-you-do or damned-if-you-don’t situation. I’ve heard potential commercial investors say that the reason they wouldn’t purchase this or that building is that there isn’t enough parking. At the same time, people complain about too much parking and not enough commerce. Like most chicken-and-egg situations, it’s not easy to know which comes first.

Thompson House Bathroom

More of the Thompson House bathroom. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Thompson tub and sink

Part of the Thompson House bathroom. The East Liverpool Historical Society offered tours during Saturday's Liverpool, England celebration. The toilet is not visible; it is locted just outside the frame on the right. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Liverpool to Liverpool

The afternoon Sun was hot but everyone enjoyed the music, refreshments, and the British car show at Liverpool, England's 800th birthday party in downtown East Liverpool. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Triumph

East Liverpool City Council candidate Ryan Stovall and ORL's own JoAnne Frye cast a vote for best car in the show. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Dolores Satow

Former East Liverpool Mayor Dolores Satow enjoyed listening to the music at Saturday's 800th Liverpool birthday celebration. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Walking the old streets

One of the great things about East Liverpool is that much of the old town still exists. Take a walk down Church Lane from Monroe to Broadway and have a look at some of the city's hidden treasures. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Recognizing our English heritage

by M. Stewart
From noon to 6 p.m. Saturday (tomorrow), the city of East Liverpool will observe the 800th birthday of Liverpool, England with a celebration on Fourth Street. There will be a car/bike show, musicians, vendors, and other activities. The KSU Computer/Technology Club will have computers available for people to view the elder Liverpool and other places around the globle with “Google Earth” software.

But that’s not all. KSU-East Liverpool technology Professor Shawn Golden plans to set up an Internet video/audio connection between the two Liverpools from 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, August 28th inside the Mary Patterson Building’s Brown Community Room. He’s already tested the link, and it works. East Liverpool Mayor Jim Swoger will talk to Liverpool’s lord mayor as part of the event, but Golden expects others to get in on the transatlantic discussion as well.

“In talking with the people who are organizing the events for this celebration, I’m hopeful to have other local dignitaries speak on the Web connection, giving their congratulations on the 800th Birthday,” Golden said. “I'm not sure who all is on that list, but it's hopeful that time will allow anyone who wishes to send a video/audio message to Liverpool, England.”

Let’s all get together and do this up right, shall we?

On other fronts ...

I was inspired by Kent State East Liverpool-Salem Dean Jeff Nolte’s Wednesday convocation address to faculty. Not only was his assessment of the future of the East Liverpool campus very positive, Nolte’s vision of a “university district” in the city is coming together with ongoing property acquisitions and the cooperation of other investors and civic groups.

One of those investors is Craig Newbold, who is purchasing the old YMCA building at Washington and Fourth streets for his New Life Academy with the intent of turning it into a dormitory. Like most people, I assumed that when the YMCA discarded the building and moved its primary operations to the suburbs, it would be yet another “Calcutta raid” and the building would be left to rot. But thanks to Mr. Newbold, the old building has a chance at a “new life.”

This is it, people—the kind of thing I and others have been talking about for years: a functional combination of private, institutional, and business interests working to remake our city. Make no mistake about it, these are exciting times in our area. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

I was glad to see earlier this week East Liverpool Councilwoman Sherrie Curtis’s clarification about the .5-mill street levy going on the November ballot. As long a voters understand that the money will, in fact, be used for street signs and traffic signals and not get lost in the general fund, the levy shouldn't be a hard sell.

Street signs are important, not only as location markers but as indicators of how much a city cares about its general appearance. Bent, faded, and otherwise dysfunctional signage looks worse than having none at all. Look at how Wellsville’s new street signs have improved the appearance of that town.

I might add that when a street sign is vandalized, it should be repaired in a timely fashion, not left to sit indefinitely. Often it’s this kind of attention to detail that makes the difference in a small town. While I’m aware that budgets and manpower are short, it would be nice to know that the city street crew had a regular maintenance program not only for signage, but for other “detailing” around town.

According to The Review, “[T]he levy will generate $38,900 over the next five years for the city’s road department. The owner of a $40,000 home will pay an additional $6.13 a year in new property taxes.” All of us in East Liverpool should be happy to spend this money for the common good.

St. Stephen's Episcopal

Evening sun hits the rear of East Liverpool's St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. The view here is from Church Lane. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

At Broadway Wharf

At the Broadway Wharf in East Liverpool: a classic late-summer hot, humid evening on the Ohio River. Click to enlarge. (J. Frye)

Untitled

Click to enlarge.

ELO in 1886

A portion of downtown East Liverpool as it looked in 1886 according to Wisconsin mapmakers Ruger & Stoner. The map indicates that Liverpool had a population of 8,000 at that time. Click to enlarge, but be forewarned that it's a big file to preserve detail. (Scan submitted by Jim Allison.)

Things he'll remember

Dominic Vallera deserves a solo shot. Click to enlarge. (J. Frye)

So, it's Tuesday

by M. Stewart
I’m very busy today, so let me point you in the direction of some articles I found interesting. It’s an open forum on the comment pages, so feel free to discuss anything that’s on your mind.

The Post-Gazette carries a story today on the alarming suicide rate for U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Draw your own conclusions as to the symbolism.

And how ‘bout that dog-hangin’ Michael Vick? I guess he figured it best to fess up now and get it over with rather than risk a lengthy trial that would showcase details he’d rather not face.

Unless the NFL bans him for life, Vick will sit out a year or two and get to know Jesus. Then he’ll make a comeback with a second-tier team that has quarterback problems. If the NFL does shut him out, he’ll play football in Canada. Well, maybe not. For a Canadian point of view, check out What's the deal, Michael? from the Calgary Herald.

If all else fails, there’s bound to be a state or country where he can get back into the dog business.

NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli has a good piece today called Italian Village Demands Return of Chariot. It’s available in both audio and print versions.

If you’re a coffee drinker, especially one who likes to buzz out in European coffee houses, you may appreciate Jakob Norberg’s Eurozine piece, No Coffee. If for some reason you can’t get the PDF, read the HTML version here.

Firefighters wear cool hats

WVFD firefighter Jamie McMahon. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Class acts

Columbiana County Commissioner Penny Traina and village Councilman Don Brown attended Sunday's floodwall event in Wellsville. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Grizzled veterans

Independent candidate for mayor and former WFD Chief Dave Lloyd (left) and WVFD Chief Bill Brown. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

How to say "no" to a river

by M. Stewart
Even with the rain, I had a good time in Wellsville at Sunday’s floodwall event. It was great to see my old fire department friends and their wives. Bob Lloyd had a fantastic display of historic flood pictures on display, and all the dignitaries who attended got a good demonstration of what Wellsville’s unique flood protection system is all about. Rather than detracting from Sunday’s event, the steady rain provided appropriate conditions for the exercise.

I’m not sure why, but it’s always interesting to watch the firefighters erect the Lisbon Street floodgate. Maybe it’s about watching people work in sync for such a vital purpose. Maybe it’s seeing complexity and simplicity expressed at once. I’m not sure of the attraction, but I do know there is a strange beauty in it.

In a real flood emergency, the Ohio River pushes up the mouth of Little Yellow Creek and spills quickly into its natural floodplain. The only problem is that Wellsville sits on that plain. When flooding is imminent, the fire chief makes the decision to put up the gates (I believe there are three). Firefighters—the majority of them volunteers—must work quickly to erect the steel and wood gates. If they fail, the town is lost.

I was proud to see that East Liverpool Mayor Jim Swoger made the trip to Wellsville for the event. County Commissioners Penny Traina, Jim Hoppel, and Dan Bing were there too, as were state Rep. Linda Bolon and several other state and local officials.

It’s always nice to see my good friend Councilman Don Brown and Memorial Council President Mel Boggs. Of course WFD Chief Bill Smith was there, as was his predecessor Dave Lloyd. I saw Bonnie and Brassy Beresford, Dolly Brophey, Doug and Kandy Elliott, Jason Smith, Mick Comparetto, Tim Raffa, Bill Brown, Steve Heaton, Doug Verzella, Marty Thorn, Bobby Swogger, Jamie McMahon, Cindy Smith, the Valleras and many other old Wellsville friends. It was great.

The only person who didn't seem glad to see me was Mayor Joe Surace. After he stumbled and stammered through the program, I approached him to wish him well in the upcoming election. As I reached out to shake his hand, he blurted out, “You’re not f---ing part of Wellsville anymore, Matt. You have no business here. Put that in your f---ing paper. I know you f---ing won’t.”

Oh really.

The mayor’s bad behavior aside, congratulations are in order to all of the Wellsville, Highlandtown, Liverpool Township and Salineville firefighters who took part in the exercise. Trust me when I say everyone appreciates the good work you do.

Over the next several days, I’ll post some of the pictures JoAnne and I took Sunday. Hope you like ‘em. (As always, click to enlarge.)

Wellsville floodgate exercise

Don't forget to leave some time open Sunday (tomorrow) to attend the Wellsville floodwall event organized by the Wellsville Fire Department. Check last week's Review story for details.

Anyone interested in local history, the Ohio River, emergency management, or flood control should enjoy themselves. Information and historical exhibitions will open to the public at 10 a.m. with the erection of the main floodgate starting at 11:15 a.m. I'm looking forward to it and plan to be there taking pictures, some of which I'll post here at ORL.

The photos included here are from a 2002 floodgate erection exercise. Two years later the gate was erected "for real" to hold off water backing up into Little Yellow Creek from the flooding Ohio River.

Beamy McCowher

by M. Stewart
The recent introduction of the new Pittsburgh Steelers mascot, Steely McBeam, has caused somewhat of a stir in the city. When the Post-Gazette ran an online poll asking readers what they thought of McBeam, roughly 70 percent said the Steelers do not need a mascot; 20 percent said they didn’t like him at all; only 10 percent approved. PG sportswriter Ed Bouchette made fun of the new mascot, saying that McBeam looks like former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher. (There definitely is a resemblance.)

I think it’s safe to say that at least so far, Steely McBeam hasn’t been a hit in Pittsburgh. A story in today’s PG shows just how much some people don’t like the caricature steelworker. See New Steelers mascot raises questions.

If you clicked into the story, you know that the problem is about image. As far as I know, there is no steel currently produced in the city of Pittsburgh. The “smoky city” days are so long gone that a good portion of the current population of Pittsburgh has never seen a steel mill. Steel is the city’s heritage, not its present, and certainly not its future.

When Steelers games are televised nationally, we always have to hear some dufuss sportscaster repeat the obligatory clichés about Pittsburgh: “Welcome to the Steel City, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that lives up to the gritty, tough, working-class background of its fans.”

People who actually know anything about Pittsburgh wince at such talk. Why? Not because they are ashamed of their industrial heritage, but because such characterizations of the city haven’t been even close to accurate for decades.

It’s sort of like East Liverpool and potteries. Although there is only one active pottery business left the town, it will always be known as a pottery town—that is, until it becomes better known for something else. The symbol of East Liverpool’s sports teams will remain that weird kiln with eyes and a football helmet. Unfortunate, yes, but what can you do?

In the 21st century, images can be created, marketed, bought and sold. It might take a while, but change can be accomplished with enough effort. In Pittsburgh, a lot of people have spent a lot of time and money trying to bring Pittsburgh’s image up to date, and now they have to deal with a marketing anachronism like Steely McBeam.

Is this a big deal? No, of course not. But I’m wondering how long this mascot can last if so many people disapprove of it. Will we see fans boo him off the field? Or will he become a lovable little plush toy sold to kids at Wal-mart?

I think Ed Bouchette has the right idea in renaming the mascot Bill Cowher. It gives fans a little ironic distance—something they can keep and reject at the same time. Then again, maybe the whole thing will die on the vine. We’ll see.

Strange Love of Martha Ivers

Dating this picture of East Liverpool's Columbia Theater is easy thanks to the marquis. "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" was released in 1946. Click to enlarge. (Photo submitted by Jim Allison)

ELO West End 1950s

An aerial shot of East Liverpool's West End c. 1956-57 before the construction of state Route 11. Click to enlarge. (Photo submitted by Jim Allison)

The three faces of Eve

by M. Stewart
According to today’s Morning Journal, James “Billy” Yost Jr. has entered a plea of “innocent by reason of insanity” in response to the aggravated murder charge involving the June 15 pipe-wrench beating death of his father.

I understand that courts accept this type of plea, but that doesn’t mean it makes sense. How can someone be declared innocent of a crime just because he's insane? “Guilty by reason of insanity” makes sense, but innocent? No.

I guess we can figure that the public defender has little choice in the case. After all, his client allegedly admitted to the crime and led police to the scene. Assuming that the physical evidence will stack up against him in court, he can’t very well plead innocent.

I’m also going to assume that those responsible for the psychological evaluation of the defendant can spot a fake nut when they see one. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Being from Wellsville, perhaps Yost should have claimed self defense. That seems to work.

Speaking of nuts, an ORL reader alerted us to an article in the Beaver County Times regarding area resident Belinda Miller, who is facing child abuse charges in Pennsylvania along with her boyfriend, Antonio Kirkland.

There’s not much else to say about these skels—other than I hope they are sentenced to be buried to the neck in a nest of Texas fire ants. So let me focus instead on the Beaver County Times online edition.

If you click into the BCT site, you’ll be assaulted with a barrage of pop-up ads so severe that unless you have your blocker on full throttle, you won’t be able to read the story. Hey, I understand the need for newspapers to sell advertising, but this kind of treatment just keeps people from visiting the site.

Lastly, for the handful of ORL readers familiar with filmmaker David Lynch, his latest film, Inland Empire, came out on DVD yesterday. As a long-time Lynch fan, I had the release date posted on my calendar. It pains me to report that the film is a bust.

After releasing two masterpieces in Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, Lynch has gone too far with Inland Empire. Lynch apologists will insist that he has reached yet a new level of genius, but what I see is little more than a collection of scenes cleverly connected by a variety of visual and verbal motifs. It’s more like a three-hour multi-media art piece than a movie. Perhaps a better description would be a puzzle with hundreds of pieces missing.

To be sure, Inland Empire has its moments, and Laura Dern does a great job with her character(s), but for the most part, the film is a self-indulgent mess that completely disregards its audience. I’m starting to feel the same kind of betrayal from Lynch as I experienced when Woody Allen started tossing out trash several years ago.

Perhaps the moral of the story is that when genius arrives, it doesn’t stay forever. If there are any David Lynch fans out there, I’d love to hear what you have to say about Inland Empire. NOTE: I was tempted to write a full-blown review, but, unlike Lynch, I have too much respect for my readers.

Classic view

A classic view of Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle from the headwaters of the Ohio River. Click to enlarge. (J. Frye)

Pass that buck

by M. Stewart
When you enter the Wellsville Zone, it’s easy to lose perspective, but I won’t complain. That’s what makes Wellsville such an interesting town to observe.

Today’s Review carries the latest chapter in the astounding saga of police Lt. Ed Wilson. I stopped trying to get inside the head of Mayor Joe Surace a long time ago, but that doesn’t stop me from wondering. The story documents the tactics of a mayor who simply refuses to make executive decisions.

According to The Review, “Surace said he knows the investigation is costing taxpayer money[;] however, he said council voted to bring in a professional [law] firm.” In other words, he’s absolving himself of responsibility by blaming it on council.

Instead of making any decisions himself, Surace admits that he will do whatever the outside attorneys tell him. He will “abide by what the firm recommends.” And no doubt he will attempt to take credit for whatever decision the attorneys make for him.

To deflect responsibility even more, he said the problem started before he arrived. In an apparent attempt at humor, the mayor added, “I will not be intimidated by anyone on this matter.”

Why all the fuss in the first place? Wilson is accused of not showing up for a murder investigation. Or is it that he did show up for a previous murder investigation? I get confused, but it doesn’t matter. By now, the credibility of village hall is zero.

My problems with Joe Surace are political, not personal. I actually like the guy, but his tenure as mayor has been a disaster for the village precisely because of his inability to display the qualities of leadership required to do the job.

Say what you want about former Mayor Joe LaScola, but one thing is for sure: You never had to wonder where he stood on any issue. That’s not to say every decision Joe made was perfect, but there was no passing the buck. He understood politics and knew when executive leadership was required.

There is absolutely no reason for the matter of Ed Wilson to have gotten this far out of hand, and there is no reason why village taxpayers should be paying big-city attorneys to solve internal police personnel problems.

Aside from the fact that Wellsville already employs a competent legal adviser, the village also has a chief of police, a mayor, and six village council members. Citizens have a right to expect at least some spark of leadership in that chain of command, but all they get is cowardice.

Having said that, I've been around long enough to know that what appears to be true sometimes isn't, so let me add that if this investigation turns out to be on the up-and-up, and some reasonable measure of truth is exposed, I'll be the first in line to apologize for my skepticism.

DelMonte Center

The DelMonte Center on Pittsburgh's North Shore as seen from the Allegheny River. Click to enlarge. (M. Stewart)

Don't be a sucker

by M. Stewart
Today’s Post-Gazette carries a story on the dangers of purchased online degrees. [See Congress taking aim at diploma mills.] A true diploma mill has to do with phony college degrees that are literally sold to “applicants”—that is, the buyer and seller both are aware that the degree is fraudulent. But as so-called online “universities” become increasingly popular and more and more people list these degrees on résumés, the lines are getting blurry. The following quotation from the PG is evidence of my point:

“While the diploma mill industry has boomed in recent years, there are many legitimate learning opportunities in the online education community. The number of accredited online programs have grown, and many have been granted the same federal student aid status as brick-and-mortar schools. The University of Phoenix, Strayer College and Kaplan University are a few of the online colleges and universities that are accredited by recognized accrediting organizations.”

Phoenix, Strayer and Kaplan may not be diploma mills per se, but it’s important for students and employers to realize that “university” and “college” are terms significantly stretched to include these online education enterprises.

There are reasons why degrees from first-tier schools like Harvard, Carnegie Mellon and Princeton are coveted. Beyond the world’s great private institutions, there are hundreds of other state universities and colleges where a student can have a genuine academic experience culminating in the granting of a legitimate, meaningful degree.

Even in today’s practical education market, traditional colleges and universities remain committed to the same fundamental academic and intellectual values that have defined higher education for centuries. At any university worthy of the name, learning is an end in itself. How students connect their education to earning a living is up to them. Certainly we must all make a living, and most college graduates hope to make that living in a field associated with their education. Still, there is much more to a university degree than getting a job.

The kind of job training available at for-profit technical schools and online degree centers should not be confused with an academic education. No one will ever convince me that a degree from an online school like the so-called University of Phoenix has anything like the value of a degree from a traditional school. At best these online degrees are serious compromises for the sake of convenience. At worst, they are complete jokes.

So if you want to earn a college or university degree that means something, I suggest you forget convenience and do whatever it takes to attend a real college or university. It’s hard work that can’t necessarily be done in your spare time. At the very least, take the time to thoroughly research these online degree-granting companies. You’ll find that most, if not all, are for-profit businesses, which means their primary mission is to make money.

More often than not you’ll discover that these “universities” deliver low-quality, canned curriculum at a very high price. While the pitch to the prospective student is “convenience,” the hidden mission is to funnel student financial aid money into the pockets of those who operate the virtual business.

In other words, don’t be a sucker.

FU-5

by M. Stewart
I was in the East Liverpool antique mall today and took note of the numbers in the center of the dials on some of the old phones. Many of you will remember what they used to call “exchanges”—a word that had the first two digits of a telephone number encoded in its first two letters.

In East Liverpool, the exchange was FULTON, so when someone told you his phone number, he might say FULTON-5-1757. Wellsville numbers began with LE (or 53, as they do now), but I don’t remember the full exchange. I’m sure one of our Wellsville readers can fill us in.

Oftentimes people would forego the exchange name and just say the first two letters, as in F-U for FULTON. I was a little kid in those days and wouldn’t have understood the implication of telling someone my number was FU-5-1757, but I wonder if many adults caught it either. I seem to recall everyone saying F-U before their phone numbers without batting an eye. Those were more innocent times.

As we might expect, today there is a Web site devoted to information about the old telephone exchanges aptly titled The Telephone Exchange Name Project. If you’re over 50 years old, I suppose it’s worth looking at. In the end, the subject of telephone exchanges falls somewhat short of fascinating, but hey, it’s Friday and I have nothing else to say.

Good vibes from the ELTC

by M. Stewart
Those of you who insist on thinking of our area as a post-industrial ruin, a crumbling Appalachian outpost, a land that time forgot ... well, you’re just plain wrong. While drug addicts, murderers, and wasteoid creeps garner their share of the headlines, others are hard at work creating the future. I met with some of those people last night.

Meeting for just the third time at the KSU-EL campus on Wednesday, the East Liverpool Technology Council remains in its start-up phase, but I must tell you that sitting down with such a group of forward-looking, educated, young professional men and women confirmed my belief that the future of our area is bright, and I am thrilled with the opportunity to be part of it.

Leading the group are KSU-EL Assistant Dean Richard Wiscott, NewLife Academy’s Donald Bean, and KSU computer technology Professor Shawn Golden—all bright, capable people who bring substantial credibility and talent to the table.

As I understand its mission, ELTC hopes to become a conduit of cooperation and support for various local institutions and businesses that share a vested interest in the development of the Tri-State Area’s technology infrastructure. Golden and Bean plan to work with the Pittsburgh Technology Council, the Columbiana County Port Authority, Kent State University and other economic development partners to promote common technology goals. The idea is akin to a chamber of commerce for technology.

Let’s face it, for decades our area has been held hostage by an environment of unhealthy micro-competition and turf battles. Getting beyond the what’s-bad-for-my-neighbor-is-good-for-me mindset is perhaps the biggest challenge we face. While there are benefits to competition, we must redefine the battle lines and understand that our region competes with the rest of the world. As such, we must face the fact that we have fallen behind and take steps to retool.

ORL readers are aware that big projects are afoot in Columbiana County—the Baard Energy conversion plant, the development of a county wireless high-speed Internet infrastructure, and perhaps even a major development play by Wal-mart in Rogers. With table gaming coming to Mountaineer Racetrack and Gaming Resort, surely the gambling industry is poised for expansion across the river. Add to that NNDS and NewLife Academy, and you’re looking at the potential for radical changes in economic prospects for the Tri-State Area. Indeed, these are exciting times.

Although currently the technology council is associated with East Liverpool by name, the group expressed interest in expanding its scope. So anyone in the Tri-State Area interested in getting involved is welcome to attend the next ELTC meeting, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 6 at the KSU-EL Mary Patterson building’s Brown Room.

Reportedly

by M. Stewart
Buried deep in today’s Morning Journal coverage of Tuesday’s Wellsville Village Council meeting is a strange little orphan paragraph that reads, “An investigation of police Lt. Ed Wilson reportedly has begun, with the village hiring an attorney from Cleveland, though officials remain tightlipped about the investigation’s details.”

“Reportedly” is one of those words journalists use when they know something is true but no one will confirm it on the record. Indeed, “officials remain tightlipped” about the details. It’s a perfect symbol of Wellsville politics.

Speaking of costs, I wonder what the good citizens of Wellsville are paying for this “investigation”? That must be one of the details officials are being tightlipped about. My oh my, what has that silly lieutenant done now?

Although officials aren’t talking on the record, I have obtained information through my village hall moles regarding the most recent list of reported offenses committed by Lt. Wilson.

Reportedly . . .

--Wilson used up the last roll of toilet paper in the WPD bathroom and did not file a report.

--A man resembling Lt. Wilson was seen driving a pickup truck on state Rt. 39 after dark.

--On July 7, 1995, Wilson (then a patrolman) failed to fasten the top button of his uniform shirt while on duty. According to an anonymous source inside the PD, Wilson was suspended indefinitely for the offense. He’ll start serving the suspension once he is reinstated from his current administrative leave. The mayor reportedly said he did not remember issuing the suspension but was assured by the chief of police that he did. "I don't normally get involved in village matters," the mayor is reported to have said.

--DNA test results taken from two hairs believed to be Wilson’s and discovered in a WPD cruiser by an unidentified part-time officer indicate that one or more of Wilson’s parents may be black. Although the hair evidence was submitted to BCII in 2003, the report was not issued until this past Monday. "We put this on the front burner," an unidentified BCII agent reportedly said. "We have concluded that the evidence submitted is, in fact, human hair."

--An unidentified source in Lisbon says he has located several witnesses who will testify under oath that Lt. Wilson has stated on more than one occasion that those responsible for the Craig Roberts murder should be held accountable for their crime.

I don’t know about you, but I sure hope this Cleveland attorney—no matter how much he charges—is clever enough to finally trap this dirty cop. The public can’t afford to have people like this wearing a badge. I say forget all this pansy-ass legal stuff and just get a rope. It’s cheaper that way.

Why now?

by M. Stewart
I don’t know if there is a hidden agenda we’re not hearing about, but this business of the city of East Liverpool erecting no trespassing signs on the Ohio Avenue riverbank is a bad idea that should be worked out. The city should be doing whatever it can to expand public access to the Ohio River, not limit it. [See Ohio Avenue residents voice objections to riverfront signs]

My main question is “Why now?” After all these years, why is the city suddenly so adamant about taking away what has been a tradition on the Ohio River for over 200 years? I know for a fact that city Safety-Service Director Bill Cowan is not someone who acts impetuously. He’s a good man—the kind of person who is creative and responsive in his job. When I need help with a problem, Bill’s office is typically my first (and often my last) stop, so I’m not willing to assume he’s the bad guy here just yet.

So again, what’s the deal? Why now?

From what I’m reading and hearing, Brian Kerr and his fellow Ohio Avenue residents are justified in being hot over this matter. Progressive communities on the Ohio River do everything possible to provide river access to residents, or at the very least to avoid standing in the way. There even seems to be some question as to whether the city owns much of the property in question. That’s easy enough to discover, isn't it?

As it stands, Mayor Jim Swoger and city council appear to be passing the buck on this issue, leaving it all to Mr. Cowan. Once again, if there is a hidden agenda driving this thing, someone needs to let us know what it is, because what we’re seeing isn’t making much sense.

I see also that East Liverpool City Council plans to put a half-mill street levy on the ballot in November. Because I’m a firm believer in hyperlocalism when it comes to taxes, I urge all city residents to support this levy.

I’ll never understand people who think nothing of sending their tax dollars to strangers all over the planet but squawk when asked to support their own town. East Liverpool streets are terrible. Forget the creek-bed residential streets; many of our downtown streets are no better than wagon trails. Most of Fourth Street would be improved if it were dug up and left as dirt, and that’s no exaggeration.

Street signage throughout the city needs replaced or, at the very least, maintained. The sign on our street has been missing for eight years. If you don’t already know where my house is, you’re not going to find it. All over town, signs are bent, faded and missing. Even with recent improvements to Dresden, St. Clair and Anderson Blvd., our city’s street infrastructure—especially in the downtown—is embarrassing.

But well maintained streets cost money, and money comes from tax dollars. I am always willing to absorb an increase in taxes if I know the money is being spent wisely and close to home, and there are few wiser investments than streets.

Just when you think it can't get worse

by M. Stewart
A senior analyst for the Center for Defense Information told the Washington Post that the U.S. military cannot account for more than 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols distributed to Iraqi forces. These weapons are “missing” and feared fallen into the hands of insurgents.

In recent months, I’ve tried to stay away from writing about Iraq. The entire enterprise has become so ridiculous that there is nothing more for rational people to say. The United States has completely destroyed Iraq. Islamic terrorists, who had little presence there before the American invasion, have virtually taken control of the country. And now we find out that the U.S. military is arming them.

In the meantime, George Bush and Dick Cheney’s friends are making billions, which—lacking any other reasonable explanation—seems to have been the entire purpose from the start.

As if news of missing weapons weren’t bad enough, President Bush on Sunday signed new surveillance legislation into law, establishing a legal framework for still more warrantless monitoring of American citizens’ telephone calls and e-mails.

According to an article in the Christian Science Monitor, the new law does not limit government surveillance to suspected terrorists. “Instead, it allows executive-branch agencies to conduct oversight-free surveillance of all international calls and e-mails, including those with Americans on the line, with the sole requirement that the intelligence-gathering is ‘directed at a person reasonably believed to be located outside the United States.’ There is no requirement that either caller be a suspected terrorist, spy, or criminal.’” [my italics]

Those of you who still believe the president was appointed by God no doubt love this new law. You’re probably saying the White House isn’t going far enough, and you’ll keep telling us that as long as we’re doing nothing wrong, we have nothing to worry about. I know I’m a bit old fashioned, but I’m starting to feel nostalgic for the Constitution—particularly the Bill of Rights.

By now it’s fairly clear: The only people who can point to demonstrable success in achieving their overall goals since 9/11 are the Islamic terrorists, and the Bush administration has been their biggest ally. It’s crazy, I know.

I’m almost tempted to try to put a good spin on these daily doses of bad news. One might argue that after eight years of George Bush, Americans will wise up and, at least for a while, avoid putting evil men in the White House. But then I remember that even after Bush had all his cards on the table, American citizens invited him back for a second term.

When a population is dominated by fools, democracy becomes merely another tool for tyrants. Meanwhile, those millions of Americans who are not fools stand by feeling impotent. "What can an individual citizen do to stop this nightmare?" they ask. If your answer is "nothing," then perhaps we are already lost.

Reunion tour

ORL picture quiz. Identifying either one of the women on the couch makes you a winner. Now that the quiz is solved, check out video of Karan Casey and Dierdre Scanlan performing with Solas at the band's web site. Choose MEDIA>VIDEO>CLIP 6 for one of my favorite Solas/Karan Casey songs.

A 300-ton mole

The Post-Gazette reports that parts of the 300-ton, $10 million boring machine to be used to dig a tunnel between downtown Pittsburgh and the North Side have started arriving. The digging is expected to begin in October for construction of the underground light rail line. Click to enlarge.

A world beyond belief

by M. Stewart
An ORL reader left a comment asking me to do a piece on global warming. My answer is that I am not qualified to do a piece on global warming. What I can do, however, is discuss that answer.

First of all, I think there is good science behind global warming theory. Far too many reputable climatologist have indicated that we should have concerns in this area for me to write it off as some kind liberal hoax. But as is the case with virtually all scientific research, not everyone reaches the same conclusions. To take that one step further, there are rarely any conclusions at all in science. Instead, the body of knowledge amassed and passed on by researchers is by necessity incomplete. As such, science is always in the process of discovery, and because one discovery leads to another, the process is ongoing—forever.

Obviously there are different areas of scientific research. What biologists, physicists, chemists, and climatologists do is very different, and even within a single field, there are thousands of narrow sub-fields. However, the one thing all true science has is common is a method of inquiry known as the “scientific method.”

In an effort to keep on track, I won’t launch into a treatise on the scientific method. Suffice it to say that science is based upon empiricism—that is, the development of knowledge and rational theories based upon the observation and interpretation of data. Scientific knowledge comes from physical evidence and reproducible experiments, not from personal opinion, belief, or faith. That’s why science and religion are always at odds. The scientist requires empirical data; the faithful believe without evidence.

The issue of global warming has become so politicized in popular culture that the debate as reported by the media must always be suspicious. Few, if any, of those who write and talk about global warming in the media are climatologists. In other words, they are not qualified to discuss the matter. The problem is made worse by an increasingly politicized news media, few of whose practitioners are qualified to even frame the debate. The result is meaningless chatter carried out by amateurs whose primary objective is expounding their extreme political views.

To keep things simple, the news media like to break issues down into two opposing camps: Person A says this and Person B says the opposite. Unfortunately, all too many journalists imagine that presenting two opposing viewpoints means they have been “objective.” In fact, complicated scientific problems tend to be far more complex than that, often involving hundreds of interpretations and theories.

But disagreement within the scientific community is a normal part of the process. The media do us no favors by oversimplifying science. Interviewing political ideologues whose only interest is winning a political argument is worse than useless; it’s dangerous. Such tactics give the impression that scientific truth can be determined by public opinion, and that’s just stupid. Still, when the scientific community asks government to take political action based upon interpretation of research data, there is no way around the politics, and we all know that politics is an ugly business based on power and influence, not truth.

Having been involved in the research community my entire professional life, I know how research works, and I know what science is. I know too that untrained people who attempt to discuss science strictly on the basis of political ideology aren’t worth listening to—and that includes both liberals and conservatives. In short, I prefer to leave the science to scientists.

Speaking of bridges

by M. Stewart
If you haven’t seen television coverage of the Minneapolis-St. Paul bridge collapse, it’s all over the Internet. I’m sure every network has good video and audio available on their Web sites. I’m looking at CNN.com coverage right now, and it seems pretty good overall.

A bridge collapse gets our attention because we know any of us could be on a bridge when its number comes up—especially those of us who live near rivers. Although collapses are relatively rare, they will continue to occur.

Check out Mark Ketchum’s Bridge Collapse Page for some good video and still pictures of Tacoma, Washington’s famous “Galloping Gertie” bridge, which collapsed on Nov. 7, 1940, just four months after construction was complete.

Perhaps the most famous local bridge collapse was the Silver Bridge disaster in Point Pleasant, W.Va. on Dec. 15, 1967. The incident prompted a wave of bridge inspections on the Ohio River that ultimately led to the closing of the Chester Bridge in East Liverpool.

A highly fictionalized but extremely effective dramatization of the Silver Bridge collapse can be seen in the 2002 film The Mothman Prophecies. The remarkable recreation of the collapse is worked into the climax of this excellent and truly scary film. Those of you who have seen this movie know it was shot in Pittsburgh and Kittanning, Pa.

Speaking of bridges, anyone in our area who has not walked across the Newell Bridge should make it a point to do so. Also, many of the bridges in Pittsburgh accommodate pedestrians. Walking a bridge is much more fun than driving. Don't take my advice if you've been having gloomy thoughts about life.