Letters to the Editor, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024

I am writing to support maintaining the Kettering Ice Arena rather than repurposing it. Several years ago when the citizens of Kettering passed the Parks and Recreation levy to upgrade parks facilities, we were led to believe the funding would include all facilities, ice arena included. Then, a few years later, there was a meeting at the Rec Center lead by the Director of Parks and Rec where large numbers of the community members and ice-time users met and again reiterated the high usage of the ice arena and the difficulty finding skating times for lessons, hockey practice/games (for men’s and women’s leagues), figure skating, etc. Again, there was a push for funding the ice arena facilities. Apparently, no one in the City Administration has been listening to the earlier calls from community members and other ice arena users who all pay to use the facilities. What’s wrong with this picture? Why hasn’t anyone been listening and moved to use taxpayer funds (already voted on) to bring the ice arena up to the quality space it should be? Why hasn’t the ice arena been made a priority as Kettering residents have requested over the years including with the passage of a Parks and Rec levy? Money should have been allocated years ago for this project! The Ice Arena is as important to the quality of life in Kettering as any other facility including the Fraze, pools, and parks. I am a 45-year resident of Kettering who appreciates all of its amenities aimed at a healthy, active lifestyle. I would urge all who are concerned about the fate of the Kettering Ice Arena to follow my lead in letting the Kettering “powers that be” know you too feel strongly about maintaining this valuable resource.

- Ann Frank, Kettering

In the recent article “What Vance rally reveals about party differences,” Vance stated that “Kamala Harris and Joe Biden want to buy energy from tinpot dictators all over the world, but won’t buy it from our own citizens, and from the hands and from our own lands.” This was followed by “Unleash American energy (and) drill, baby drill…” Some rhyming there but short on facts and truth. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the US has been a net oil exporter since 2020. We actually exported more during Biden’s first three years than during all four of Trump’s. We currently produce in our own lands essentially the same amount of oil as we consume. Oil companies also import an amount of oil equivalent to and additional 35% of what we consume or produce and then either refine it or resell. That’s the oil business, not the government. Regarding the “tinpot dictators”, that’s people like Canada, our largest import source (52%), then Mexico (10%), Saudi Arabia (7%) and Iraq (4%). The first who might meet the “tinpot” definition is Venezuela at 3%, a tiny proportion of the total imported. In addition, for those who continue to whine about the price of gasoline and blame the Democrats, bear in mind that from 1978 through 2022 the national average price of gasoline has been essentially level as indexed for inflation. In Europe they pay double that.

- Wilbur R. Brooks, Dayton

It’s never safe to assign GOAT status to any athlete because you never know what may come up in the future. Some records will never be broken like Joe DiMaggio’s and Cal Ripken’s and for that they are considered the greatest of all time. Others are considered great for other reasons like Rod Laver, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Tiger Woods. But in this Olympics we are witnessing three of the greatest of all time in the Olympics, and we should be grateful; LeBron James. Simone Biles, and Katie Ledecky. What these athletes at the end of their careers have given us is truly awesome. I doubt that it will ever be repeated.

- Bob Gillis, Centerville

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