— Northside to dedicate new park on Saturday

Northside Youth League would like to thank everyone who helped with our park. If you have not seen the park, there have been major changes! With new landscaping, roofs, paint, scoreboards, playground area and a huge parking lot, it looks beautiful!

This could not have been possible without the help of some very special people! We would like to thank Mayor Greg Goodnight, Kokomo Parks Department Director John Martino, Center Township Trustee Jean Lushin for all of his continued support over the years, VFW Post 1152 for purchasing two new scoreboards and its sponsorship and support over the years, and the city workers who, with leadership of Joe Ewing and Lynn Rudolph, were able to finish the project in time.

Special thanks go out to E and B Paving for all of the help with the asphalt. The workers cut and formed the parking lot out of dirt and gravel. We are very fortunate to have such a talented work force working for the city of Kokomo.

We were in need of some help with the roofs on the minor league building. Jose Ochoa was able to send a crew out and replaced all the roofs on the buildings, and they look great! Please remember to support Ochoa Roofing.

We are blessed to have all of the work done at the park, and now that ball season is here, Clean Cut mowing is taking care of the diamonds, and they are doing great! Hats off to the great job that everyone has done to help make our park look awesome and the art work on the buildings from Jimmy Horn.

Saturday is opening day, with the bake sale starting at 10 a.m., opening ceremonies at 11 a.m. and the first pitch at noon. Games will be played all day.

Please come by and watch a game, grab a bag of popcorn and a Coke! Enjoy the new playground and have fun. We are very proud of the park and love to show it off!

We are asking for past players and coaches to please come for opening ceremonies to help celebrate this wonderful opportunity to dedicate our new park to the north end of Kokomo.

In closing, I would like to say thank you to the parents who have donated their time and efforts to make sure the park is a safe place to play, to the sponsors that have supported the teams and, last but not forgotten, the kids who play. They are the true reason that we are there and do what we do!

Play ball!

Brian West

Northside Youth League

Tony Long: Voice of common sense

This is a year when political conversation revolves around tax burdens, budget deficits and unemployment rates. It’s a breath of fresh air to hear a voice of reason in this sea of gridlocked political chaos involving our current congressional leadership.

Tony Long not only has a clear understanding of the problem, he also has a vision for the solutions needed to bring our nation back to its economic potential of a balanced budget and full employment.

There was a time not too many years ago when our country was dotted with factories and work sites that produced real products like steel, textiles, shoes, appliances, automobiles, electronics and numerous other consumer-driven items. Those factories created jobs that paid a living wage and generated income taxes. These taxes are sorely needed today to balance a budget that has been hammered by two wars and a Wall Street bailout.

One of Long’s solutions to these problems is to revisit our trade agreements and level the playing field for America – be it an American company manufacturing offshore or a foreign company importing goods or services into this country. These companies should be required to pay their fair share of taxes or move here and hire American workers who will pay income taxes.

Tony Long has explained that he is a realist and understands this cannot happen overnight, but if we could reduce our trade deficits by altering these unfair trade agreements by 1 percent per year, we will achieve a balanced budget and provide a living-wage job for everyone in this country within seven years.

I have known Tony Long for 30-plus years and know him to be a man of outstanding character with high moral values, while never seeing him wear his Christianity on his sleeve. I have watched by the way he lives his life, he sets his standards by God, family and country.

If there’s ever been a time, this is the time we needa man like Tony Long in

Congress.

Kenny Hill

Burlington

What the ‘bypass’ means to Kokomo

I have two things to discuss. First, it’s a bypass. That means you bypass Kokomo. If you need a motel or want to eat, you go through Kokomo on the old U.S. 31 “bypass.” If not, you use the new bypass, got it?

Second, if you want to see what goes on in an eagle’s nest, check out www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles. There is a webcam focused on an eagle’s nest in Iowa, 24 hours a day. Very interesting.

Sandy Sarber

Galveston