It is urgently important for this newspaper's readers and other members of the communities of southeastern Ohio to know about the fact (announced by several Ohio non-profit organizations) that the current managers of the Wayne National Forest (WNF) apparently intend to release land to the federal Bureau of Land Management, thus ceasing to protect the land from oil and gas drilling that would likely poison our drinking water and dangerously pollute our air.

In response to the May 3 "Wearing Thin" column by Editor Terry Smith, "More Ruminations on the City's Festering Problem," while the impression may be that the city operates "with admirable restraint," in reality Athens has gone beyond restraint; by the city's preemptive preparations for these fests such as closing off streets, officials are instead condoning these parties, which is anything but admirable.

A recent speaker at Ohio University, Dr. Robert M. Wagner, made the claim that the global warming debate is largely founded on disinformation, and that there is a widespread conspiracy to disseminate that disinformation. I am a complete convert to this point of view.

I sent the following letter to Time-Warner in Monday's mail.

To Whom It May Concern:

In the name of decency, bring back the CBS station from Columbus to the people in the Athens area.

"Palmer Fest meets Mitt Romney."

It's not that far-fetched.

W. Mitt Romney — a child of privilege — and a small group of peers physically assault another student during his prep school heyday, and the incident disappears into the woodwork.

So, apparently City Council has passed a law that bans signs on lawns that say "for rent," but allows signs that say "for sale" or "yard sale" or anything else but "for rent." 

In his letter to the editor (Athens NEWS, May 14) Athens City/County Health Commissioner James Gaskell, M.D., called claims that fluoride additives are poisoning city water "untrue."

Short of pitching a tent with Occupy Wall Street, I would like to suggest that those of us who have accounts with the latest bank involved in the massive loss of investments, withdraw our money.

Re. David DeWitt's May 10 article in The Athens NEWS on the city fracking ordinance: A couple of weeks ago, I talked to Mike McCormac, oil and gas permitting manager for the ODNR's Division of Resources Management, and also to a representative of Mike DeWine, the OU attorney general, about the Athens City Council's pending ordinance.

Ameri…who?

As we celebrate our mothers and women in our life this week, we have a lot to be grateful for and a lot at stake in the upcoming election.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lynn Debeljak, June Safranek and the two unknown Ohio University students who helped my mother, Joanne Prisley, on Saturday, May 5.

In Thursday's story about what should be done about the spring fests, one council member says the city has to get community input from all constituency groups. Well please permit me, an Ohio University graduate – BSCE 1961 – and longtime Athens resident, to provide my input as follows: Your namby-pamby approach does not represent the will of the vast majority of the city's permanent residents but more importantly it doesn't work!