Letters to the Editor: Sept. 10, 2022

This letter is a salute to you, Dayton. August 12 was a very dark day for me as a hearse carried my husband to the cemetery. He was a small-town country boy right out of high school when he joined the army and was sent to serve in Korea. He was so proud for having served his country. He told me many times.

The funeral home had put large army decals on each door of the hearse and a flag draped coffin was placed inside for the trip to the cemetery. It was a rather long procession of family and friends that followed. As the hearse approached Brown Street, people everywhere stopped what they were doing to watch and honor this American Veteran. A man walking along the sidewalk stopped, removed his hat and held it over his heart. An entire construction crew stopped working, took off their hard hats and lined the sidewalk in respect. Oncoming traffic stopped along the route and people all along our trip stopped and stood in silence as we passed by. You did not know the color of his skin, his religion, his political views, or even if the flagged draped coffin contained a man or a woman. Only that it was the body of an American Veteran and that was enough for you to honor this person. It was beautiful to see.

To all our service men and women throughout the world, please know that the citizens of Dayton, Ohio have your back. The gravesite military honors were performed with such perfection. I am sure that any living veteran in attendance that day had to feel the gratitude of our city and nation.

Thank you, Dayton. You brought a little bit of light into the darkness.

- Jada Deaton, Dayton

I would like to tell you how one community bites a hunk out of their low-income housing problem. Regal Acres is a planned community of about 37 acres that was started in 2010 and completed in 2015. It consists of 184 duplex homes built around a man-made lake and play area in Collier County, Florida by Habitat for Humanity. No government money was used to build the houses, but government money was used to provide infrastructure like roads, permits, sewers, etc. Families, in order to qualify, are interviewed by a Habitat volunteer. They must give at least 500 hours of sweat equity. At least 100 hours by the recipient including classes in: home maintenance (such as how to change an air filter, housekeeping, mowing lawn, etc.); budget class on home and personal finances; home ownership responsibilities and family living. The loan is held by Habitat and each family is required to pay his or her monthly payment in person at the Habitat home office. This allows personal contact between Habitat and the mortgagee so that any problems can be addressed promptly.

As a result, Collier County Habitat has a foreclosure rate of less than 1% and a delinquency rate of less than 4%. The advantages of planned communities are many; to name a few, people of like circumstances are neighbors, which means they have a lot in common — they watch out for each other, they babysit, they rideshare and they watch out for their community. By the way, they pay taxes! We here in the Miami Valley have a great opportunity to provide a similar community. For example, the old Forest Park area and the Hara Arena area are just two that come to mind.

- Thomas H. Routsong, Centerville

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