Letters: Ohio forces Stow-Munroe Falls Lions Club to discontinue vision screenings

Open letter to governor

Dear Gov. Mike DeWine:

I’m a member of the Stow-Munroe Falls Lions Club, which has conducted vision screenings in schools for many years. Unfortunately, we were informed by the Ohio Department of Health that our equipment (Plusoptix vision screener) is no longer approved and, therefore, we’ve been forced to discontinue our vision screenings in public and private schools in the Greater Akron area.

We don’t represent our service as a formal optical examination, but we’ve identified many children with vision problems, assisted them with retaining free formal vision examinations with respected doctors, and helped with the purchase of prescription eyeglasses. The service we provide, at no cost, can screen a child in mere seconds and frees up school nurses to attend to their students.

Please talk with your team at the Ohio Health Department and encourage them to lift their boycott of our equipment so that we may continue to provide this valuable service in the communities we serve.

Our Lions Club is one of many that can be part of the “Children’s Vision Strike Force” you proposed in your State of the State address!

Regards,

Nancy L. G. Henry, Silver Lake

Views on poverty

The last few years, I have met many people who are homeless with criminal records. I met one person who was released from prison with no money, no job contacts, and no place to live.

Poverty and inequality are two major issues of our time. The jails are full and the prisons are full. The war on drugs has failed.

The people suffering from the most hardship have the least political representation.

One of the solutions to this problem is for both major political parties to implement expungement programs for federal inmates. More states need to have expungement programs. Expungement programs allow low level offenders to seal their record and obtain better housing and better jobs.

In closing, I hope both political parties will come up with ways to alleviate the harsh conditions that many Americans endure.

Dajuan Beaty, Akron

Level of competence

Nothing shows the sharp distinction between Vice President Kamala Harris and convicted felon Donald Trump more than their choices of running mates.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is an experienced public servant who has delivered for his state. He has pushed through policies like strengthening gun control, expanding paid family and medical leave for Minnesota workers and providing universal free meals for public school students. He’s a veteran and a former high school teacher and coach.

While U.S. Sen. JD Vance was licking Trump’s boots to get himself picked as his running mate, Gov. Walz was promoting better schools and better pay for teachers in his state.

Vice President Harris showed the nation that she’s serious about surrounding herself with smart, capable colleagues. Trump showed the nation that he’s serious only about having another lickspittle who will genuflect before him as his running mate. I’m going to vote for smart and capable.

Angie Charles, Stow

The real reason

President Joe Biden’s address on exiting the race claimed it was for the sake of party unity. Nonsense. He dropped out because the Democratic machine knew he would lose to Donald Trump. They pushed him out. With Harris stepping forward, Democrats, despite the sugar high, behind the scenes are not laughing.

Even the New York Times recently asked its opinion writers to weigh in on possible Democratic candidates; almost all said Harris is the least electable. Now the left-leaning media is scrambling to rewrite Harris’ ultra-liberal history.

Axios, which dubbed her the “border czar” in 2021, just ran a piece claiming she had never been given that responsibility. Likewise, Gov Track in 2019 declared Harris the “most liberal” U.S. senator, more so than Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, but is now retracting. More disinformation. More spin.

Former President Trump, drop the nicknames. Focus on Harris’ left-wing extremism, your successful record and vision, and America will make the right choice.

Michael Anderson, Barberton

No tolerance for military lies

Serving in the military, at any level, is an act of true courage. But lying about your service? That’s a disgrace.

I served our country proudly in the U.S. Marine Corps after 9/11, with multiple combat deployments overseas. The men and women I served with gave everything for this nation, risking their lives in the heat of battle because they believed in something bigger than themselves.

When someone embellishes their military service, they’re not just lying — they’re dishonoring everyone who has ever worn the uniform. It’s a slap in the face to those who sacrificed so much. There’s no excuse for it, and it should never be tolerated.

We must hold our leaders to the highest standards — nothing less is acceptable. If someone can’t be honest about their military service, they have no business leading this country. Integrity isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the bedrock of trust, and without it, leadership crumbles. We should never support, let alone vote for, anyone who disrespects the sacrifices of our service members by lying about their own. If they can’t be truthful about their past, how can we trust them with our future?

Adam Miller, Cuyahoga Falls

A DEI candidate

There seems to be some controversy about Vice President Kamala Harris having been a DEI candidate. President Joe Biden promised to choose a Black woman as his VP, excluding all other choices.

So, no matter what you may think of her, or the DEI movement itself, she certainly was a DEI pick for VP.

Robert Umbarger, Munroe Falls

Is MAGA racism?

MAGA has attracted the lowest among us. Racists, misogynists and all sorts of bigots and xenophobes have been drawn to MAGA like flies to something the neighbor’s dog left on your lawn. A modest examination reveals why MAGA is racism, and every other bigotry you can think of.

“Make America Great again” means that it was great in the past, and not great anymore. But greater in the past for whom? Was it great in the past for Black Americans? Hispanics? Jews? Women? Asians? LGBTQ? Muslims? First Nations? Of course not.

It was greater in the past for privileged white Christian males, who are raging against an America with fewer of them than before. So if you’re Black American, a woman, Jew, LGBTQ, Muslim, First Nations, Hispanic, etc., and you thought MAGA is for you, think again.

Mark Ira Kaufman, Silver Lake

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Letters: Ohio forces Stow-Munroe Falls Lions Club to discontinue vision screenings