&ltA HREF=mailto:chris.cecil@irontontribune.com&gtBy Chris Cecil

Voters interested in hearing from the candidates whose names will be on the ballot this November will get several chances to hear their stands on the issues before Election Day.

Wednesday, September 27, 2000

Voters interested in hearing from the candidates whose names will be on the ballot this November will get several chances to hear their stands on the issues before Election Day.

The Concerned Citizens of the Burlington Area has scheduled the first county legislative forum.

Several other local groups are also planning to give county voters the chance to meet their candidates.

"We have two forums a year," said Harriette Ramsey, Concerned Citizens president. "We hold one during each primary election followed by one during the general election. Thursday’s forum is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. at the Sybene Senior Citizens Center."

She said many candidates are running unopposed, which means this week’s forum should last less than an hour.

"There will only be six candidates featured in the forum," she said. "We will have the four commissioner candidates and the two sheriff candidates."

Each candidate will be given four minutes to talk about his objectives, she said.

"During that four minutes, we stress that nothing be said about their opposition," Mrs. Ramsey said. "After each candidate has had their turn to inform the audience of their objectives, the floor will be opened to questions."

She said the Burlington group is interested in several issues.

"A lot of our concern will be on area safety," she said. "We definitely want to hear from the sheriff candidates because we rely on them to help provide our safety."

The commission candidates will be asked for their plans to beautify the area, she added.

"We want to try to get input from them on what they plan to do with the cleanup of our area," she said. "We’re an unincorporated area and it takes both the commissioners and the trustees to keep our area cleaned up. We need their help in keeping old junk cars and trash from ruining our area."

For those who cannot make Thursday’s forum in Burlington, there will be several other chances to meet the candidates.

The American Association of Retired Persons will feature candidates for state and local offices at its 6:30 p.m. Oct. 16 forum.

Scheduled to attend are candidates for the Sixth District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives – Incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland and Republican challenger Mike Azinger; and Ohio House of Representatives candidates – incumbents Bill Ogg and John Carey; and several other county candidates. The forum will take place at the Ohio University Southern Campus in the Bowman Auditorium. Issues such as Social Security, Medicare and patient protections in managed care environments are among a few topics to be addressed.

The Greater Lawrence County Area Chamber of Commerce will conduct a forum Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. in Bowman Auditorium on the Ohio University Southern Campus.

The Proctorville Women’s Club also is planning a forum Oct. 10.