2 thoughts on “The Latest Issue of The Splash Now Available Online

  1. Get your facts straight before you publish something. The US Steel Garyworks is not shut down, nor has USX pulled up stakes from the area. The mill still runs, producing over 7 million tons of steel a year and employing about 8,000 people.
    Also if you’re so upset with the county commisioners and there are so many people opposed to this mine maybe you should vote them out. Last I checked they were elected officials.

  2. Mike,

    Thank you for reading the Splash. Usually, we get at least one Kennecott supporter that reads our magazine, each issue, and finds the information frustrating. Sometimes, a small error is found within. I’ve heard it’s pretty common at any publication, let alone one run by a citizen group on a shoestring budget.

    The “Great Lakes Community” page is open to community articles that contain factual information. Thank you for pointing out the inaccuracy in the editorial article.

    You are correct: US Steel does continue to operate in Gary, albeit while hiring only but a fraction of what it could in its heyday. Despite the decades-long boom, until roughly the 1960s or so, Gary now has depressingly high unemployment and crime, in additional to numerous other problems (a passerby could probably point out a few reasons why they wouldn’t want to live there as they accelerate through the city).

    As for our elected officials…I think you could find the answer in regular polls taken of the US Congress’ approval ratings. I don’t really keep up on it but I remember, last year, they had something like a 30% approval rating. They are, of course elected officials.

    You can also readily find information on the power of the incumbency – it is not very easy to defeat an incumbent. Look at Alaska’s convicted felon senator, Ted Stevens. He only lost by a razor-thin margin.

    Another issue (on the local level, not our US elections) is that most of our officials (in addition to being entrenched incumbents) often run uncontested and, when they do, by a little known candidate. My county commissioner (featured in the article) ran unopposed, for instance.

    I guess we just need some active candidates. Sometimes I wonder if it is an easily corruptible breed of person that is drawn to political office. – most people seem to avoid it.

    But, thank you for the comments. As a citizen-based organization focused on conservation and protecting public health we enjoy communicating with our fellow citizens.

    If you find any errors in the future or have any other comments feel free to contact us again.