Many people have it worse than college athletes

It is sad some college athletes cannot play this fall. You know what else is sad? That my freshman daughter cannot move in on campus. That my other daughter has to take high school classes at home. That my wife, who is a teacher, has to try to figure out how to provide a quality education remotely. That my elderly parents can hardly leave the house. That millions of at-risk people live in fear. That hundreds of thousands of people have died and many more will.

Those are just a few of the other things that are sad. Let’s focus on getting kids safely back in school. Let’s focus on getting businesses fully open.

Sports is a game. Sports is entertainment. You can play the game another day. Sadly, the same can’t be said for others.

Bob Taylor, Ostrander will result in severe environmental and health consequences. These consequences might include the release of toxic pollutants such as benzene, methane and formaldehyde.

The legal counsel representing Ohio State, Steven Lesser, has 30-plus years background working for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. In addition, there is a new movement to replace the current chair of the PUCO, former lobbyist, Sam Randazzo. This is primarily due to Randazzo’s connections to Firstenergy, a company recently linked to a $60 million scandal involving former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder.

I find it hypocritical that students are taught to stay out of trouble and be leaders while the university is pursuing a very much troublesome proposal. I urge the university to live up to its reputation and lead Ohio into a clean and brighter future by implementing a plan for 100% renewable energy.

If the city of Columbus can, I have no doubt that Ohio State can as well.

Logan Sigler, Westerville

US must find a way to put new person in Oval Office

In respond to the Friday letter “Election has the potential to be a much-disputed disaster” from Clarence Billheimer. Unlike Billheimer, I feel the USA is ready for the fight to correct this abomination of desolation that the 2016 elections brought front and center. The Republican Party has allowed an inept leader to demolish the credibility of our nation.

Yes, we need to think about if something happens to former Vice President Joe Biden. Sen. Kamala Harris' life has shown how America can be better and build back better.

If we do not elect Biden-harris, what has happened in the previous months of 2020 will continue with no end in sight. Who doesn't listen to scientists? Answer: a dictator.

May God give us the strength we need to take this country back.

Helen Ashford Voll, Hebron

My fighter pilot dad wouldn’t like comment on Harris’ eligibility

President Donald Trump has deliberately muddied the waters about an important issue to curry favor with his base by refusing to say (as of Sunday morning) that Kamala Harris is eligible to be vice president of the United States since both her parents were immigrants. He said he “heard today that she doesn’t meet the requirements” to be vice president, that “I have no idea if that’s right” and “I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to be vice president.”

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution says a person born in the United States is a citizen even if their parents are not citizens of the United States. Even if you do not agree or like this amendment, it is settled law.

My father was the son of immigrants: He was born in Pennsylvania in 1922 and both his parents were immigrants from Poland. He volunteered during World War II for the U.S. Army Air Corps, flew over 80 combat missions in a P-47 fighter, shot down two German fighters, and came back from many missions with bullet holes in his plane. He served in Korea during the Korean War and retired from the U.S. Air Force with 21 years of service.

I would have loved to see Donald Trump, who got a medical draft deferment for bone spurs during the Vietnam

War, tell my dad (who passed away in 2010) that he would not be eligible to be elected president or vice president because both his parents were immigrants.

Keith Olszewski, Dublin

Larger counties will need more than one drop box

I respond to the Thursday Dispatch article “Larose OKS drop boxes at elections offices.” The 88 counties in Ohio range in population from Franklin with approximately 113,000 to Vinton with approximately 13,000. There are 950,000 voting-age adults in Franklin County and about 9,500 voting-age adults in Vinton County.

Most of Ohio's counties have under 100,000 and many have under 50,000. It is outrageous that counties with populations the size of Franklin and Cuyahoga are being permitted one drop box for ballots while counties like Vinton are allowed the same one drop box.

Is it just a coincidence that Franklin has a very high percentage of people of color and in the lowest economic bracket? Is it a coincidence that people of color and in lower income brackets generally vote for Democrats? In addition, the one drop box must be in front of the Board of Elections. Imagine how far people from areas like the Hilltop, Hilliard, the Far East Side and the far south side will have to travel if they want to place their ballot in the drop box in front of the Board of Elections on Morse Road, not to mention the time it will take, which will impact their jobs.

This is another example of the corruption at the heart of state politics in Ohio, which is controlled by the Republican Party.

Jay Shapiro, Columbus