Solutions must include regional input

I applaud the Post-Gazette’s March 1 editorial “A Marshall Plan for Middle America.” I grew up in Vinton County, Ohio, and I remain familiar with many of the people who live in southeastern Ohio’s Appalachian counties. And I appreciate the “misery and desperation” caused by decades-long high poverty levels in the region, the causes of which were chronicled recently by Fordham University historian Steven Stoll in his meticulously researched book “Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia.”

I agree with the PG editorial that the solution must include input from the people within the region and be a community solution. I hasten to add that the most effective undertaking — consistent with the notion of input from the residents for a community solution — has been the well-planned and successfully executed efforts of the George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs of Ohio University.

Established in 2007, the Voinovich School is a new type of professional college that integrates multidisciplinary faculty, professionals, students and alumni to work with governments, nonprofits and businesses to build strong and vibrant communities. The school’s efforts have been highly successful in entrepreneurial development, water quality, education, health, child welfare, substance abuse prevention and waste reduction/ environmental remediation in southeast Ohio and in other regions of Ohio.

The editorial’s notion for “a well-thought-out plan” to pursue an “investment of federal dollars” is spot on, and the tried-and-true plan of the Voinovich School is the way to go.

CARY R. COOPER Ottawa Hills, Ohio The writer serves as a member of Ohio University’s Board of Trustees.