An OPEN LETTER to … Martins Ferry Mayor John Davies …

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Mr. Mayor:

We just want to thank you for not listening to your mother (but please never tell her we said that – thanks 😊).

We know she’s always been very proud of your success in business and public service, but we’ve also heard she wonders sometimes why you do all that you do for your beloved Martins Ferry. And frankly John, so do we, sometimes … with NOW being one of those times.

Not only is the current political climate pure poison with an unhealthy divide between parties and their people, but your city of Martins Ferry is facing unprecedented problems. Sure, the infrastructure is old, there are empty downtown buildings with few prospects, and City Hall is in need of extensive ADA updates and structural repair, but your community is struggling with a financially strapped school system, devastating increases in property taxes, and no one seems to know if the community hospital will survive its own resurrection.

Yet, there you are at every turn every time, still fighting for people whether they voted for you or not, and it’s great to see you have the backs of the people of Martins Ferry. We wish you luck against great adversity that – this time – is not within your practical purview but still means so much to the present and future of Ohio’s eldest settlement.

We see you. We admire you. We appreciate you. And we’re praying for you and for all involved.

Sincerely,

Fans of Purple Land

Steve Novotney
Steve Novotney
Steve Novotney has been a professional journalist for 34 years, working in print for weekly, daily, and bi-weekly publications, writing for a number of regional and national magazines, hosting baseball-related talks shows on Pittsburgh’s ESPN, and as a daily, all-topics talk show host in the Wheeling and Steubenville markets since 2004. Novotney is the co-owner, editor, and co-publisher of LEDE News, and is the host of “Novotney Now,” a daily program that airs Monday-Friday from 3-6 p.m. on River Talk 100.1 & 100.9 FM.

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