Backfire: When “safety” equals “hog trough”

Two overlooked facts about Heath traffic cameras:

1 - Heath was a long stretch of agricultural land built to a hugely profitable enterprise because Rt. 79 passes through.

During the years since Heath was a corn field, ODOT, politicians, and business interests have ignored the obvious solution to “traffic safety,” which would be to build a bypass for SR 79 around Heath and Newark.

Rt. 79 traffic brought millions of dollars to Heath businesses; now greed has overtaken common sense, resulting in a traffic-ticket hog trough. It is fitting and gratifying that the scheme is back-firing. Rt. 79 has become the precise reason people are avoiding Heath businesses.

2 - Redflex of Australia has been lucky so far: Nobody has yet shot out (or otherwise disabled) these bottomless ATM troughs feeding Heath government hogs.

Carl Vine hits the big time

Carl Vine, one of my favorite humorists, is among 10 semi-finalists in a national writing contest by the Robert Benchley Society.

I’ve read parts of “Chips off the Old Benchley,” because Benchley - who died in 1945 - was one of Dad’s favorite humorists and he kept that book around home for as far back as I can remember. That could have caused my affinity for Carl’s brand of humor.

Carl, a Johnstown resident who blogs for the Advocate and elsewhere, won this esteemed position for the essay, SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING ANY TAX FORM The winner will be announced August 17th.

Grand winner or not, here’s a local boy who’s making it big time as a writer. Cheers to Carl, whose e-mail address is: aesculusioensis@embarqmail.com