Mike Scinto and The Ohio Newspaper Association's Osman C. Hooper Award

 

What an honor, and Blessing, to receive this prestigious award for doing something I enjoy so much! 

The judge's comments for the columns entered for me by my Editor Bill Duffield were: "These columns range from nostalgia to the voice of a community, but they have one key thing in common: They take a stand and intelligently (and personably) defend it. A joy to read."

For those who are not aware, the Kettering-Oakwood Times was the home of the late Erma Bombeck, one of the most humorous, emotional and gifted writers of recent times and it is an honor to be published in the same paper!

You Really CAN’T Get There From Here

By

Mike Scinto

 Columnist

Appearing in Kettering-Oakwood Times-Times Community Newspapers

          I’ve sat in amazement and watched video accounts of climbers pushing forward to the peak of Mt. Everest; losing limbs, suffering frostbite and even losing their lives. I’ve viewed accounts of brave souls who traversed the rain forests, by river and through insect-plagued jungle trails, to get medical supplies to remote tribes around the globe. And as a 16 year old I remember heading back to my hometown of Memphis, to travel with family members on their annual jaunt to Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming. While I loved my traveling partners, and the rodeo was awesome, the trip was somewhat less tolerable. Arkansas, at the peak of summer heat, is almost unbearable. We traveled in a Ford Fairlane with NO air conditioning across Arkansas and Oklahoma. Because of allergies, my Aunt couldn’t have wind blowing on her. While never measured, I’d bet the temperature in the car had to eclipse 120 degrees.

          While all of those journeys were painful and treacherous, none held a candle to the trip I took last week. I had to drive from my home in God’s country, a little bit south to the office of my newspaper to pick up a package. The trip took me through the heart of Kettering, Ohio; no path for the faint of spirit these days!

          This once gorgeous suburb of Dayton has become a maze of orange barrels and hard hats. At least three main thoroughfares are traps of barrels, ropes, machinery and dirt (mud). Since my visits are few and far between now, I planned to also stop at my favorite bakery, a restaurant where a good friend is the manager and a grocery store second to none. Needless to say, after traveling hours and hours to get a few blocks, those additional stops were scrapped. I’m not sure how the businesses even keep their doors open.

           It was all I could do to pick up my package and escape with my sanity! Combine the construction with drivers who quite obviously cut classes on Driver’s Education days and it was a nightmare. These hooligans behind the wheel cutting in and out of lanes, deciding to turn at the last second and sitting through multiple traffic lights to turn left, not realizing they could have proceeded into the intersection then turned when oncoming traffic moved through.

           None of the planners from Kettering asked me but if I were in charge we would take a section of one main roadway and intersection, concentrate crews there, repair it and move to the next section. Instead they strung out crews from Wilmington to Dorothy Lane and on to Woodman. Those are the only ones I SAW. There may be more. And of course they tied up all those intersections too. There is no “alternative route”. In fact there are multiple driveways into my paper and it was a game of bumper cars trying to get in and out.

           I can only imagine what would go through the mind of a business man planning to relocate who’d heard such great things about the area and surveying it in his car with potential investors. Or what about the family relocating to the area and wanting to buy a home in a nice, quiet suburban community?

           It’s too late to “re-plan” it now but maybe next time they’ll realize there are better ways of doing things. By the way the Headline for this column was not my idea but fit perfectly. I hesitate to attribute it to the person who “donated” it to me since they spend a great deal of time in Kettering and might end up with a crew working in front of THEIR work or home for the next year or two as retribution. I sure hope none of the other 48 contiguous states are in need of orange barrels; they’re all in use in Kettering!

The Golden Rule is Alive and Well

By

Mike Scinto

Appearing in Kettering-Oakwood Times-Times Community Newspapers

     All too often good deeds go unnoticed and unappreciated. I intend to make sure that doesn’t happen for a couple who exemplify how we all should live. They’re from Tipp City and their names are Tony and Sue Sutton.

     They will quickly tell you they are Christians, retired and appear to be enjoying life. What did they do that set them apart from other folks and drove me to write about them in this column? They found my wallet and returned it to me with every dollar bill, credit card and piece of paper intact (at least the same shape in which they found them).

     One morning this past week, following a night of only a couple of hours of sleep, I was dozing off in the late morning. The door bell rang, or at least I awoke thinking I heard the door bell. I looked out and a gentleman was standing in the doorway. He asked if I was Mike Scinto. There was no gun drawn, he wasn’t wearing an “Obama or Bust” t-shirt nor was he accompanied by Dog The Bounty Hunter so I responded in the affirmative.

     He then reached his hand toward me and asked if I wanted my wallet. Still wiping sleep from my eyes I wondered when I gave this man, who I had never seen before, my wallet. I took the billfold that looked like it had been run over by a car with some of the cards broken and cracked. It looked that way because it had been run over; apparently all night long, with the contents strewn over a major thoroughfare next to Tony’s (the man at the door) home.

     It was a good test of this (rather costly) wallet that I had to beg my wife to allow me to buy just months earlier. After it was cleaned up it looked as good as new. Every card (but one) was in there, as was a sizable amount of cash. That was unusual for me because I am on the plastic standard now and rarely carry cash.

     It seems Sue, Tony’s better half, was gardening in the early morning and saw the wallet and contents in the road. She and Tony proceeded to search for as much of what was originally in the wallet as they could find. They did a great job!

     After gathering it all together Tony saw our address on the driver’s license and brought it back. I followed him home and Tony, Sue and I tried to reconstruct my travels the night before and I realized I had, in fact, driven down that road a couple of times. I have a bad habit of laying things on the bed cover of my pickup truck and forgetting they are there. I assume that’s what happened the previous night.

     There were a couple of ironies in the event. First, just prior to Tony coming to our front door I had been in a discussion with Dayton residents on Facebook about how different things are in the suburbs. You have to lock and guard your possessions in the city and in our community things are just the opposite. This proved my point. I hate to say it, and I could be wrong, but I wouldn’t wager much that this would happen on a street in the Gem City.

     The second irony was that, as I mentioned, there was one card that the Suttons didn’t find. Sue had told me this event was God-driven and as I approached their home to thank them again, a light colored object caught my eye on the road. It was the missing card. So I had everything back, in working order and my wife wouldn’t have to kill me for being so careless.

     Just as we are bombarded by headlines of shootings, armed robberies and muggings, two wonderful people reminded me that if guided by Faith and conscience, we really can treat others as we would hope to be treated. So Tony and Sue, thanks for being the kind of people who really do answer the question WWJD; What Would Jesus Do?

The bin Laden Reign of Terror is Over!

By Mike Scinto

Columnist

Appearing in the Kettering-Oakwood Times-Times Community Newspapers

 

            My first reaction to the bulletin that interrupted programming Sunday evening was “Thank God, the world is rid of this monster”. My second thought was hoping he struggled before he finally died because of the pain he caused so many. My third reaction was I wish they would have captured him, brought him to America, released him in an arena with the families and survivors of the 9/11 horrors and just let them have him.            

          Then I watched the crowds in Times Square, and other cities, cheering, laughing and singing. Something clicked inside me. While I shared the sentiment, and given the opportunity would have joined them, I felt a little funny. Was I sorry bin Laden was dead? No I wasn’t. I think what bothered me was the fact that our celebration made us look almost uncivilized.

            Don’t get me wrong. Put me in Pakistan with a weapon and I’d have put two into him without hesitation. Is that the right way to feel? 

            I am a follower of Christ; or at least I sure strive for that. So why am I not apologetic for despising this killer and being glad he’s dead? I have to say, at least speaking for myself, it’s a bit hypocritical. Would the Savior I say I follow be dancing and singing in the streets?  Man, I sure never thought I would feel this way! 

            Before I get the emails and Facebook comments ripping me to shreds, please understand I am not judging anybody’s feelings; I already said I share them. I’m not trying to shove the Bible down your throat. I am ONLY speaking of my own inner conflicts.

            I suppose my main reason for putting this down in words is the cathartic feeling it gives me. And just in case there may be others wrestling with the same thoughts to know you’re not alone. There’s no doubt the world is a better, safer place without bin Laden. But are we better as a result of our manner of dealing with it?

Now That's What I Call News!

By Mike Scinto

Columnist

Appearing in the Kettering-Oakwood Times-Times Community Newspapers

They’re rolling out the big guns for this one. Network news anchors, top reporters and videographers, analysts, politicians and psychologists by the dozens, hour after hour, are showing up on our TV in an almost seamless display.

Have they found a cure for cancer, reached a peace agreement in the Middle East or have the millions of unemployed in our country been hired back to do real jobs in America? Oh no, the huge story isn’t even on our shores. Nope, the big news is William and Kate’s royal wedding!

I don’t know if it’s possible for any of you to care less about this than me. I just don’t get it; or maybe I do. We have become a shallow nation that believes the snake oil salesmen (after all, we elected one to the Presidency) telling us what’s important and what isn’t.

I speak at functions regularly and have found, out of the hundreds of folks I have seen in recent weeks where I brought this up, maybe ten people (male or female) who claimed to have any interest at all in this.

I have had good friends in TV media, national and local (brainwashed as they were), who have seen me on Facebook telling me to lighten up. “We need some diversion from the economy, war and the 2012 election” they lament. And I absolutely agree with them. But is THIS the best diversion we could cook up? I always assumed a diversion was something that briefly took you away from a harsh reality. But this is nearly the entire 6:30 newscast, replacing ANY valid news!

I can understand a two or three minute story, even daily, this week leading up to the “big day”. But the anchors reporting from London; a bit much I suspect.

No, I’ll sit this one out. Maybe I’m out of touch but I don’t think so. I even saw one story, on a cable network that agrees with me I suspect, where Brits, who didn’t care and hoped to escape the crowds back home, decided to vacation in America; only to find it was the only news really being covered on our shores.

I’d be a little more heated but, somewhere amidst the array of reports from London I did see, on one of the Big Three networks, that Lindsay Lohan was arrested for the 4^th time and released on bail. At least they haven’t lost ALL journalistic credibility!

Great To Be An American!

By Mike Scinto

Columnist

Appearing in the Kettering-Oakwood Times-Times Community Newspapers

This column is, on a regular basis, devoted to my warnings, opinions and observations about what I feel this administration in Washington, and its liberal colleagues on The Hill, are doing to America. I paint a sometimes grim picture of their approach to changing this great country.  While those opinions haven’t changed, I do need to step back for a moment and draw that old “Mom’s” comparison of the mountain and the mole hill.

Despite very distinct, and often divisive, differences between the right and the left (politically) in this country, no matter how split we are, we are still America. I am taken aback by what I have been seeing played out in these past few months around the globe that makes me realize our differences are dealt with by microphones, Congressional debates and newspaper columns rather than Molotov cocktails, AK-47s and military tanks in our streets.

Just to name a few of the more obvious battles attacking governments of late are; Egypt, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and of course Libya. The list is not limited to those nations but they are the five more prominent we have witnessed, and are witnessing, in our living rooms (via cable TV) every evening.

Every now and then, more often of late, I gasp to think of the misfortune of living in a country where, as you drive or walk to work or school, you have to pass through military barricades, or rebel or militia checkpoints. If the wrong answers are given at those stops, you may never arrive at work or school, or ever be seen again for that matter.

Through all our differences, and lately they seem to be numerous and deep, we have maintained our unshakable posture as a non-violent Republic where all can protest, debate, argue and challenge decisions that have been made. And I don’t see that changing. At least I pray it doesn’t.

God has a plan for each of us. That is my profound belief. And I thank God every day (and should every minute) that his plan placed my family in this great land on our planet. It is with ever-growing passion and sincerity that I proclaim (and hope you do as well) GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Glowing Fools

By Mike Scinto

Appearing in the Kettering-Oakwood Times-Times Community Newspapers

Oh, how I long for the days of quality, research-rich journalism in America! Those were the days when ugly, bald guys read the news and had occasional video or slides pop up over their shoulders. And while ratings mattered, they weren’t the driving force behind TV newscasts. No this isn’t another of my rants about what modern TV “news” shows have become, but about a direct and immediate reaction to what they’ve caused today.

In my little suburb in the heartland of America, thousands of miles away from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant in Japan, at our little home town drug store they are almost out of iodine pills. The pills started flying off the shelves here and around the country after the hours of warnings, safety instructions and “science” lessons on protecting yourself from radiation that is “imminent” on-shore in America as a result of the impending meltdown of that facility.

I am by no means an expert on nuclear energy, the consequences of an accident like this or self-protection if it happens. What I am an expert on is the over-reactive nature of today’s ratings-driven, competitive media and total lack of journalistic ethics displayed by those outlets. I am also an expert on the over-hyped fears generated by the Three Mile Island incident in neighboring Pennsylvania in 1979, when I was working as both a TV assignment editor and a radio talk show host. I saw, first-hand, the warnings (although not quite as frightening as today’s) of the impending doom from that accident. While I admittedly haven’t seen EVERYBODY in a several hundred mile radius of TMI in the 32 years since, I can honestly say I haven’t noticed any Siamese triplets, two-headed cab drivers or people glowing in the dark; well, unless you count my neighbor, but I think his is from the case of beer he consumes every day after work! And I still eat a Hershey Bar now and again with the worst effect being that I need a slightly larger belt.

Many of the same emotions were stirred up in us with Chernobyl. And while there were certainly more individuals in the immediate region of Chernobyl injured or killed, once again the clouds carrying certain death across the oceans to America never materialized.

As I opened by stating I am no nuclear expert, I am no fool either. The dueling experts on-air run the gamut from no effect on us whatsoever to making sure we have our affairs in order; and sometimes they babble on the same show! Nope, I’m not running out and buying any iodine tablets, digging an underground shelter behind our house or lining the walls with lead. But if, and only if, we are radiated to oblivion and  you survive, please make sure my original copy of The Beatles White Album on vinyl doesn’t melt; oh wait, what does it matter? I’ll be a crispy critter. Never mind!

A Heartfelt Plea

By Mike Scinto

Columnist

 Appearing in the Kettering-Oakwood Times-Times Community Newspapers

Wes Leonard and Matthew Hammerdorfer can’t read this column. They are no longer with us. Had they, or their parents, coaches or friends addressed some of the points made in the following paragraphs, perhaps they would have been here to read it. Sixteen-year-old Leonard died of cardiac arrest after winning his Michigan high school basketball team’s big game. Two days later seventeen-year-old Hammerdorfer, of Fort Collins, Colorado met the same fate during a rugby match. Both deaths were attributed to cardiac arrest and enlarged hearts. Both were tragic losses of life before even reaching a fraction of their potential.

How many young athletes do we have to bury before we take relatively inexpensive but critical steps to stop this insanity?

One of the problems, in this cost-cutting state of denial in our schools, is that we believe “that happens to somebody else, not here”. Then it happens “here” and the scramble is on, the finger-pointing begins, the tears rush forth at the memorial service, a tournament is named in the player’s memory, the class graduates, the recollection of the event fades, the next season begins and it all starts over.

The experts I’ve heard comment suggest that anywhere from three student athletes per day to nine per week in America suffer a similar fate. For whatever reason; busy news day, happening in a very small community or an athletic department that doesn’t want the news to spread, we just don’t hear about many. When they come in pairs, just days apart, it makes the headlines. I was unable to corroborate those numbers absolutely, but I am comfortable with them because the figures I saw all floated in that range.

If the number is one, it’s too many! But how can we prevent it? Can it be stopped? Obviously there is no way to head off every sudden death by a young athlete. But there are steps that can be taken to cut the odds drastically.

To the person, every expert I have spoken with, listened to or read on this subject says there needs to be a cardiac defibrillator on the sidelines at every athletic event, gym class and practice; in every school. They are relatively cheap and as automatic as they can get. It wouldn’t hurt for the entire staff to be familiar with their operation and when to use them. I don’t really care where the money comes from, who has to pay for it or how the “suits” budget for it. Get them NOW! And get several, since there will be multiple activities going on some days at your school.

I also believe every athlete, instead of going through a cursory physical once-over, needs to have a chest x-ray, EKG and stress test every year. Again, there will be a cost. Many insurance companies will pay and some will not. There needs to be some form of athletic booster club to help defray those costs if necessary.

There’s power in numbers and the Internet is a fantastic tool! You need to sit down TODAY and find the email address of your state’s High School Athletic Association headquarters. Fire off an email, or if you don’t like to write, you have my permission to include this column. Tell the organization that enough is enough. You want the points I just outlined made mandatory compliance issues for all schools in the state and you want it done yesterday! Have your friends email as well and keep “re-sending” the emails until you get a response.

Email the athletic directors and superintendents in every district where you live, work, vacation or have loved ones attending. And keep those emails cycling.

Don’t allow them to lay numbers on you; “the actuarial tables say”, “statistics show” or “we’ve got the situation in hand”. It’s political hogwash! As a coach for 14 years, a parent of two fantastic teens, an uncle, friend and godparent, it’s time to be heard! Before updating to newer, more colorful uniforms, or buying some shiny new helmets, do what needs to be done. You don’t want the next scramble to be contacting you or a friend to announce that it really has happened “here”.

Special note: Please send me an email with any responses you receive back about this. I don’t want to let the ball drop. mikescintoshow@gmail.com

Reaction to My Senate Bill 5 Column

By Mike Scinto

Columnist

Appearing in the Kettering-Oakwood Times-Times Community Newspapers

My column last week generated more email than any in recent months. It was actually fairly evenly divided; which surprised me. Normally only those who want to take exception to something I said bother writing. There was very little middle ground. People either commended me for my stand supporting SB 5, and ending collective bargaining for government workers, or they painted me as a man who despises our teachers, firefighters and policemen. They suggested that I don’t care what these brave individuals are paid, or the conditions under which they’re required to work.

            I feel the need to correct any misconceptions. At the risk of sounding patronizing, I have policemen in my family and some of my very best friends have served on the force. I can’t say I am close to any firefighters in my circle of friends and family but have the utmost admiration and respect for that chosen career. As far as teachers; having two children I understand intimately the amount of dedication and work that goes into that profession by devoted individuals.

            My remarks and concerns have nothing to do with the jobs these professionals perform. It doesn’t address their relative worth, or whether they are being compensated justly for their job performance. It has to do with the hard, cold facts facing this state as we go forward. We’re broke. We need to make cuts and all have to absorb, or deal with those cuts. It can’t be done when automatic pay raises, benefits and job protection is guaranteed by contract to 350,000 state employees, especially when the well is dry.

            State employees should be paid, retained and rewarded just like those of us in the private sector; based on our merit and job performance. We in the “real job world” don’t get automatic raises or have protection from a boss who feels we need to take a pay cut, or our position be eliminated altogether, to meet budgetary requirements.

            As Important and necessary those jobs I outlined are, ask any breadwinner in the private sector and he/she (and their family) is likely to feel his/her job is equally important and critical. And those in the private sector don’t enjoy those safeguards and protections. Just ask some of your neighbors who, after 20 years on the job with an unblemished work record, are now collecting unemployment. And those individuals are still (even with their unemployment checks) paying taxes to meet those contractual requirements of job protection for their government counterparts. Is that fair?

            We would all like guarantees. We would all like good retirement and health care benefits. But the reality is, you can’t get blood from a turnip. And the Buckeye turnip is dry. The only way to fix it is to put government employees on the same playing field as the rest of us. And that is hopefully what SB 5 will accomplish. And in the long run, it will be better for us all. It has nothing to do with hating unions, any profession or those with opposing views on this. It has to do with the “new normal” for our states, and nation’s economies.

Gravy Train Over in Ohio and Wisconsin Public Sectors

By Mike Scinto

Columnist

Appearing in the Kettering-Oakwood Times-Times Community Newspapers

           In college football and basketball, Wisconsin and Ohio have been thorns in each other’s sides over the years. But right now, we are on the same page when it comes to one aspect of balancing the states’ respective budgets; the elimination of collective bargaining for state employees by incoming budget-conscious governors and legislators. It’s a step long overdue as far as I’m concerned.          

           Now before you start typing your letters to the editor, or firing off a nasty email to me let me say this; it’s spelled S-C-I-N-T-O. And yes, I believe today, in 2011, a union mentality in the private sector and the public sector is equally bad. Yes, I am a union-buster and proud of it!

           You see, public employees are protected from the realities of what the rest of us face in the “real world”. If a car maker announces its employee costs (including wages and benefits) are out of line with revenue, it can simply take its manufacturing business off-shore (as they have), or shut its doors completely and end that problem for good. Government simply can’t be shut down or move offshore. But the cost overruns, increasing price tags of health care, wages and benefits are still a reality.

           Let’s look briefly at the private sector. I remember thirty years ago the warnings from companies like General Motors, Chrysler, NCR, Dayton Press and others that union demands, if met, would eventually cost union members their jobs. The unions bare most of the blame, but employers and lawmakers were also at fault for buckling to this legal blackmail and continuing to allow the union bosses to line their respective pockets as they robbed from their employees who were making artificially high (and out of whack) wages and benefits. Then the bubble burst.

           I knew an autoworker personally who, for more than a decade, was laid off over half of those ten years yet, through unemployment and TRA (Trade Readjustment Allowance) funds ended up taking in 90% of what his colleagues were making on the line.  But I digress with my private sector chatter.

            I also remember when public employees could not strike, or would be fired. I stood, not long after leaving the Air Force, watching firefighters stand and watch houses burn down over labor disputes. That’s one of the reasons I decided to become a talk show host.

           I was so proud when President Ronald Reagan stood up to PATCO (the air traffic controllers) and told them to get back to work or be fired. And they were canned! That took intestinal fortitude on Reagan’s part, but he stood firm.

           Unlike Ford and General Motors taking their operations to Mexico or China, your neighborhood policeman and firefighter is here to stay. If the private company is running in the red, it can simply downsize, move overseas or shut down. We (taxpayers) are the employers of public workers. If “our” employees need to take a pay cut, staff members need to be eliminated, or bad employees need to be weeded out (like bad teachers) it would violate collective bargaining contracts. It gives the unions representing workers all the power with none of the responsibilities.

           It’s time to face the reality of this economy and our changing economy. We, as a state, need to take back control of who we hire, how much they make and the kinds of benefits we can really afford to pay out; and be able to adjust those numbers as needed. I respect our hard-working, dedicated public employees. I’m not saying that they (as a whole) are not qualified, hard workers or essential, but so is a balanced budget and working within the constraints of that budget.

            The gravy train is pulling into the station in Wisconsin and Ohio. If employees want to keep their jobs in the public sector they may need to shed some of their excesses so the train can pull back out of the station and continue its trek. If not, there’s a whole new batch of well-groomed replacements ready to move in and accept the boundaries of our “new’ reality”. The choice is yours public employees, just as the rest of us have had to make those choices out here in the private sector. To “borrow” a line from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, “Choose wisely”!