The headline above is an old saying...but very appropriate for the "refugees" (if you will) still without power from our unpleasant visit from Hurricane Ike, now 8 days ago.

Over the past week, we have heard from people who had no food in their homes because food spoiled, people who live on oxygen tanks who were without power, people who have no water, as well as people just plain out of power and out of patience.

All the frustration is totally understandable. But, the anger, the accusations, the wild rumors that have been spread throughout the area, the class, age discrimination and racial warfare plays...are not.

The one group of people who, I believe, were totally within their rights to complain, picket and protest were the residents of that nursing home late last week who manned picket signs to complain about their power still being out. Why? Nursing homes were mentioned to us as being a priority. And if you were a nursing home and your power was still out after 5 or so days, I'd complain, too. Obviously, in that one case, something fell through the cracks, and D.P. & L, rightfully, responded.

The fact is: if you truly have a need, there's help for you out there. If you are out of food and need a meal, the American Red Cross, local churches and organizations can help. If you need to stock your pantry and don't have the cash, local food pantries exist to help. If you need water, area fire stations will let you fill up containers. All you need do is show up with containers in hand.

What's sad to me is that some of the local organizations and agencies are telling us that they have the means to help people, but those who show up refuse to even as much as go through the 15-30 minute screening the agency needs to determine that potential person's need. No, they want to be handed the keys to the food locker, or be handed a gift card, without as much as a brief discussion with a case worker. And, some of these folks are offended when they're asked to discuss their need!

All of which makes me wonder if those people are needy as they say they are.

Yeah...that's "calling the baby ugly", but so be it.

People: get it through your heads. What we went through was, in Dayton terms, a problem of major proportions. But, unlike the people in Texas and Louisiana, our stores have not been closed for weeks, we still have roofs over our heads, there is now ample access to gasoline and ice. Some of us are still out of power...but probably 70-75% of the area is back on, with the rest to come in the days ahead.

If you're holding your breath for FEMA to come flying in with $2000 gift cards to hand you, don't. You look ugly when your face is blue.

What happened was a major disruption for the Miami Valley and for Dayton Power and Light. It was, however, not a disaster on the proportions of a Hurricane Katrina and should not be treated as such...by our Government, or by ourselves.

If President Bush chooses to approve Gov. Strickland's disaster declaration request, fine with me. I'm sure there are people and businesses out there that could use the help. But, we're not as bad off as those folks who lose their homes, their businesses and their livlihoods from hurricanes.

I have a close relative who lives on oxygen. Her power went out on Sunday. Instead of calling the radio station and pleading for Dayton Power and Light to put her on a priority list to get power back on (as a lot of people did), she simply chose to call 9-1-1. Within 20 minutes, she received a phone call from the Montgomery County Sheriff's office who sent a cruiser out immediately to transport her to a hospital, where she spent the night before power was returned to her home the next day.

Help was there...and help responded. Quickly.

The help is there if you need it. The question is: will you choose to use it?

A couple of final thoughts:

Several of us at the station have logged multiple voicemails to our extensions here late at night. Man...you should hear some of these calls. I'd love to play them for you on the air, but they'd be one long "BLEEP". More F-Bombs than a decent person can imagine. (And I do suspect some of these folks were drinking heavily before they called.) And, the threats you've been making on the phone to us aren't gonna get you any help any faster, either.

People: we are not gonna call Dayton Power and Light to give them your addresses. You can do that yourselves. Call 1-877-4-OUTAGE. As reported on the air on Sunday, Dayton Power and Light wants to you to place another call to make sure they're not forgetting about you.

While we are in contact with D.P. & L., we have no "secret" "backline" phone number to call to get your power back on. And, the proof of that is that several people on our staff are still without power at their homes.

If we haven't mentioned your town as being out of power in 3 or 4 hours, for crying out loud, relax. Dayton Power and Light knows you're out of power. If you haven't reported it in a while, call 1-877-4-OUTAGE now. We got a phone call today from someone who said we hadn't mentioned "Huber Heights" in a newscast, when the audio cut from Mary Beth Weaver of D.P. & L. specifically mentioned Huber, along with other areas. We simply don't have the time to mention every town with an outage in every newscast. But, we know your power is out.

And, if you've done what you're supposed to do, D.P. & L. knows.

Your own individual situation is probably not as unique as you're thinking it is right now.

So, here's my latest replies:

(My response: Friend...I'm in the dark, too. All my neighbors have power. I don't. You'll probably have power before I do, as my situation appears to be one of those "individual drops" the Dayton Power and Light folks say may take into next week to fix. So, if you get back up before I do, enjoy your power. You can think of me eating my cold peanut butter sandwiches while you do. Lastly, I have no stock in Dayton Power and Light. I have no relatives or friends who work for them. No connection to the company at all. )

A query from a listener:

Here they come...

E-mail after e-mail to the radio station. Phone call after phone call from angry residents to our studio phones. And it's all the same thing:

"Me and my friends are out in our neighborhoods and we haven't seen one truck with
"D.P. & L." on it! They're not working on our power! We demand an investigation!!!!"

Now, I am not going to be an apologist for Dayton Power and Light here. And I have leveled criticism at them in my broadcasting career.

But, some of you folks need to take a chill pill...and fast.

Do any of you remember what we told you on Monday? I believe it was: "Dayton Power and Light says it could be the weekend before all of the power comes back on."

Come to think of it...I think we said that about, oh...a few hundred times since Monday morning.

So...what part of this don't you folks understand?

Hey...I feel your pain. My electric's still out...and just about all of my neighbors have theirs back on. They've got frozen food in their fridge. I just had to throw out a bunch of stuff from my freezer. They're watching Fox News on their TV. I'm listening to a portable radio with candles on in the house while we cook on a gas grill.

I just spoke with a person who is barely above the food stamp line, financially speaking. She said she doesn't want a hand out...but wants someone to refill her refrigerator's freezer. (If Neal Boortz were here he'd answer "and that someone, I assume, is government"!)

Have we become a nation that truly thinks we need to look at government to provide our every need?

Have we become a nation of wimpy idiots that can't handle electric being out for 4 or 5 days?

My God! When my grandparents were young, there wasn't even stable constant electric service! Imagine living back then...

If all your food has gone bad and you can't afford to replace it right now, go to a Red Cross shelter and get a free meal! Or, call one of your local churches...we have reported on a number of them who are serving at least a free evening meal. It is simply not beneath your dignity to do so. That's why those safety nets are in place.

And if your electric is still out, I appreciate your frustration. But remember...we've said all week this could take until the weekend to sort out. Take a deep breath, ask yourself, "what do I need to do to get through the next couple of days," and do it.

We weren't kidding.

Hey...I was a Boy Scout. I can handle it if you can.

I don't know if you've realized this, but yesterday's sustained almost hurricane-force winds that blew through the Miami Valley was a once in a lifetime event. It's never happened before (not at least in any recorded history of Dayton), and it probably won't happen again.

We do need to send kudos out to all of the first responders - the police and fire, the citizens patrol teams I saw out directing traffic in many area and, yes, the folks who are working for D.P. & L. and the other power companies as well. This is a nightmare for those folks...teams have been sent in from other states (if I heard Larry's news right this morning on my battery-powered portable radio), and I'm sure they're working as hard as they can to get the lights back on. But, with 200,000 plus customers affected, it's gonna take a while.

I'm sure a lot of you had what you might have called a mildly uncomforable night last night. Same for me and the people at my house. But, we got through it reasonably well. Why? Out in the garage, packed safely away in plastic totes were:

A camping stove with several bottles of propane.

Non-perishable food supplies including a box of non-fat dry milk, gallons of water in plastic jugs, and yes...instant coffee (which tasted pretty good at 6:30 this morning).

There's 2 battery-powered radios in the house, 3 or 4 flashlights (and yes, I got more batteries yesterday. And the box of candles we had was a great find, too!

With ice in the cooler, the perishables are staying cold. And the frozen stuff in the freezer in the kitchen was still solid as of 8:30 this morning.

A lot of people kinda laughed at me a few years ago when I started making these "emergency kits", and again, when I replaced some of the supplies last fall. Bet some of them aren't laughing so hard now.

If you haven't done this, make it a point when the power comes back on and things settle down to go spend a few extra bucks at the grocery store and do it. An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.

Something like what we had yesterday will probably never happen again. But the next time we have a big snowstorm that takes out some power lines, or (God forbid) a tornado or severe thunderstorm hits, you'll be glad you were prepared.

OK, I'm going to get political here. So I expect I'll please about half of those of you who read this and tick off the rest. So be it.

I write this because both Presidential candidates were in the area today. And, you know what? I don't care who you vote for. Why? That's your decision and it's none of my business.

But, the most alarming thing to me after years of working in the news business is how incredibly uninformed most of you are when you go into the voting booth.

There's so much mis-information out there, nobody could possibly keep it all straight.

And, you know what? That's the way (uh-huh, uh-huh) our politicos like it.

The news reporters breathlessly tell you how "on fire" the blogosphere is. Have you ever really read some of the crap that's on the internet? There's a guy out there named Dave Winer. He's a computer guru who has turned his computer blog lately into a political blog.

That's his right. More power to him there. But, what disturbs me is that some of the "facts" I've read on his blog are wrong. Dead wrong. Some of the stuff he's put out there was just proven wrong by an article exposed on the website "FactCheck.Org", and published by Newsweek Magazine (which is not exactly always a bastion of conservative thought).

Dave: You're 100% entitled to your beliefs. But, buddy...a journalist you ain't.

Oh yeah. I can't wait for the 527 group ads to really get rolling. (I hope you can read the sarcasm in my voice here). In the 2004 election, I lost count of the number of lies, distortions and plain outright untruths I caught on both sides of the spectrum in those babies!

And, young people, take notice: I like the concept of "Rock The Vote". I think it would be wonderful if those of you of voting age become more politically active. But, only if you also make it your responsibility to become more politically aware.

Jon Stewart is not a journalist. He just plays one on TV. Same with Steven Colbert. And "Weekend Update" on SNL. They're satire. They're intended to be entertainment and are intended to be (and often are) quite funny. But don't take anything said to necessarily be serious news or well-thought commentary. That's not what these shows are designed to be.

What's my bottom line here? Don't believe everything you read in tabloids, on the internet or see or hear on TV or Radio until you've investigated it for yourself.

This will be one of the most important elections of our lifetime. God help us if we screw it up.

The original story is posted below. As always this blog is about your thoughts - so post your opinion.

http://newstalkradiowhio.com/localnews/2008/09/dayton-homicides-hit-2007-mark.html

Welcome to my first blog.

The purpose of this blogsite is to speak out to and for Dayton. To raise topics and issues that Daytonians are concerned about. To offer ideas if and where I have some. And to offer you the opportunity to add to the discussion, whether you agree, disagree or just have some additional fact or figure to offer.

Who am I? Wouldn't you like to know? Let's just say: I was born and raised in Dayton and I'm proud to be living in my hometown.

That having been said, I know my hometown is not a perfect place. No such hometown could be. When Dayton is right, I'll defend it. When Dayton's wrong, it needs our help. That's where you and I come in...with the free and open exchange of ideas.

Again, my shoulders are broad...if you think you've got a better idea, bring it on. I welcome your comments. Let's just keep things civil, OK?

So, today my topic concerns the Dayton Public Schools, which will place before voters a 4.9 mill continuing operating levy on the November ballot to meet the district's pressing financial needs.

My initial reaction? This levy, at least on the surface, makes a whole lot more sense than that 15 mill monstrosity the district tried to get passed about a year and a half ago that I said was "D.O.A." on the day it was announced, and was not surprised when voters rejected it.

Interim Superintendent Dr. Kurt Stanic has a tough job, and I wish him well. Certainly, getting a levy passed in these tough economic times is a task in and of itself. Least of all considering the following:

According to the latest figures I could locate on the internet (if you have more current ones, please add to the discussion), Dayton Public Schools graduate about 56% of its' students. That means more than 4 in 10 fail or drop out. Yet, it's also true that Dayton Public Schools sees a higher amount of Special Education students than many districts, and (according to the stats I found), 65% of students in the district qualify as "poor".

That does not mean, however, gains in the district are not being made. Dayton students made academic gains in 7 of 8 math indicators on the 2007 state report card. A Thurgood Marshall Senior, Jose Gutierrez was named a 2008 Gates Millennium Scholar, one of only 1000 students nationwide chosen to receive the award. And, it's worth noting that Dayton has produced 11 such scholars in the past 8 years.

Dayton Public Schools have been top heavy in the past with administrators, and the district spent big bucks 4 years ago to purchase a former corporate world headquarters as its home. OK, what's done is done. The issue of the number administrative jobs will need to be watched and continue to be addressed by the district. The tight budget I'm certain will (and rightfully should) force change where change is needed.

Still and yet, the Ohio Department of Education says Dayton spent $13,531 dollars in total expenditures per pupil in 2006-2007 - the 2^nd highest among urban school districts. Only Youngstown spent more. And if that sounds like a lot of money to you, consider the large number of students considered "poor" in the district and one could draw the conclusion that that means more has to be provided since those students' families don't have the cash to provide as well as do families that are more well-off.

I am fully aware that the decision to cut school-provided RTA passes to high school students this year has some parents absolutely irate. Just as irate, I would hope, as the parents of students whose academic or arts-related programs were cut in the 30 million dollars of budget cuts made this year.

And, no...I won't apologize for music or arts programs in schools. They are just as important to producing well-rounded citizens as are football or basketball programs.

It's very easy to say, "if they'd just cut some of the (bleeping) administrators, they'd have enough money". Maybe...or maybe not. And to always tell a school district, "you've got enough money, make it work" is not exactly a real-world view. School districts pay electric bills, heating and cooling bills, just like you and I do. How much have yours gone up lately? Now, multiply that by a factor of (what?) ten or 20 or more...

At the same time, I can appreciate taxpayers (with family incomes of $20-$40 thousand per income) foaming at the mouth when a school administrator being paid six figures says to the media, "It's only "X" dollars more a year for each homeowner". What's "only" to you may be "a lot" to some.

But, that's the decision we all have to make as taxpayers and voters when a school district asks for more.

Am I saying here Dayton's levy needs to pass? I'm not going to make an endorsement here. At least, not yet. But, I am saying this is not the time to simply pass judgment based upon sound bites on the TV or radio news, or a single pamphlet that may come to your door between now and November. Take the time to learn all sides of this discussion before you make your decision. The one thing of which today's voters are the most guilty, is not making informed decisions. This decision, which involves your kids and your wallet, deserves more than 5 seconds of thought.