As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
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The Massillon Review would like to take a moment and thank those public servants who have made positive contributions to the civic life of the City of Massillon this year.
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We thank Fourth Ward Councilman Tony Townsend for his determination. He wanted to honor former council member, the late T. Roy Roberson, a trail blazing public servant, by naming a park after him. It seemed like a simple request, but has turned into an eight month odyssey. It would have been easier for Townsend to give up. He hasn't.
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We thank Third Ward Councilwoman Kathy Catazaro-Perry for her integrity. Even though she knows the mayor will marshall his rubber stamps to crush her ideas for reform, we are thankful she continues to try. She wanted a performance audit of the city's finances, to help run the city more efficiently. The mayor shot it down. She wanted to end the policy of annual unvoted pay raises for mayor, council, the auditor, treasurer, and law director. The mayor had his loyal enforcer, Council President Glenn Gamber, kill her proposal. Yet she continues to try.
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We thank Massillon School board member Tom Seesan for his ethics. Seesan, who in the face of a nasty and personal campaign by some overzealous football boosters to force his resignation, stood tall, and refused to allow the 'friends of the program' to take over the Massillon Schools Athletic Department. The community owns the schools, not a small group of football boosters.
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We thank retired Judge Richard T. Kettler, and local historian Margy Vogt, for working to honor Massillon's veterans. Kettler is a retired Air Force pilot who served in Vietnam, and Margy Vogt is the keeper of Massillon's history. They are two community leaders who speak through actions, not words, and we wish to join the families of those Massillon serviceman who perished in war and thank Rick Kettler and Margy Vogt for making sure we never forget.
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We thank Massillon Clerk of Courts Johnnie Maier for his public service. It was Maier who quietly, without fanfare, made sure that Massillon could continue to maintain its tradition of a live Tiger mascot. More than this, Maier just does a good job. He always comes in under budget, and manages to return money to the city's coffers, to help those who did not manage as prudently as he did.
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Finally, we wish to thank the citizens of Massillon who make our community strong, despite the machinations of some politicians who do not always put the public first, as they should.
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Happy Thanksgiving from The Massillon Review.
