TO THE EDITOR:

Rowdy fans are something that has to be tolerated at football games. But when this behavior becomes violent, then a line must be drawn. My point is what happened at the Bengals-Steelers game. Everything was going great until a beer bottle hit my 5-year-old son in the head. Thank God for plastic.

The sheriff's officers took control of the situation in the stands, but let the culprits go into the plaza area around section 219. Unfortunately the fans got in a fight in the large crowd trying to leave the stadium.

I bought a two-game season ticket because I wanted my boys to see a real football game and develop the same spirit for the Bengals and the game the way I have since being a kid. After the experience we had I wonder if I was right in thinking this way.

There should be zero tolerance for rowdy, dangerous behavior. When there is potential for violence those people should be handled in a manner that the general public is not threatened with physical harm.

Matt Stegall, Richmond, Ind.

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Widening I-75 won't help 'common good'

I hope that an alternative solution to widening I-75 can be found to solve the traffic congestion problem. If the city and even the county want to at least maintain and hopefully improve the quality of life here and thus maintain a strong tax base, then they must make city living attractive.

Widening I-75 would displace homes, disrupt neighborhoods, and introduce more noise and air pollution. Therefore, it seems that widening I-75 is directly opposite to what many city and county officials consider a priority - that is, retaining a strong tax base.

I can imagine that powerful business interests - ie. highway construction, trucking, interstate commerce, do not have our "quality of life" as a priority. Our politicians need to look out for "our common good" and not sell out.

I'm sorry that I can't offer an alternative, but I'm not a traffic engineer. I'm just an average citizen who has a gut feeling that the same issue will arise again in a few years even if we widened the highway, and the city will have already lost.

Keith Kombrinck, Clifton

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Oktoberfest crowd showed a friendly city

I wanted to comment on my experience at Oktoberfest. I ventured forth to a crowded Oktoberfest Saturday, Sept. 21, evening with three kids ages 3 and under. To my absolute delight, everyone I encountered was very friendly and helpful. It didn't matter what their age, sex or ethnicity.

One man helped my daughter on and off a ride, so that I could stay with my baby and stroller. Another gave my kids some beads to play with, other people helped me make my way through the crowd, over curbs and cords, yet others helped me get my stroller up steps. If my kids dropped something, somebody was instantly there to pick it up. Other people simply smiled and interacted with my kids. People were understanding when I accidentally bumped into them.

For all of the things we hear about the unfriendly nature of Cincinnati, my experience was the absolute opposite and made for a great evening with my kids. Thank you, Cincinnati.

Kristen Mason, Harrison, OH.

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'Man's' rules cause disillusion with church

This idiotic mentality of "man-made" church rules is exactly why people are disillusioned with the Catholic Church, me included ["Teacher weds, is fired," Sept. 20]. How arrogant that the Church thinks their vows of matrimony are any more sacred than any other denomination's. What happened to "All men are created equal in the eyes of God"?

Sure, let's leave the pedophiles and molesters in the fold, but get rid of those dangerous married folks. I'm not worried that God is upset with me for my comments, because I know He's shaking His head in disbelief, just as I am.

Monica Shannon, Rossmoyne

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Delta needs to focus on pricing system

James Pilcher writes on Sept. 21 about Delta Air Lines trying to make customers love to fly. The article mentions the "high five" approach, focusing "on being welcoming, helpful, efficient, caring and proactive."

All is well and good. However, I think Delta would do far more good by spending time on their pricing policy. It appears that a monkey throwing darts at a number board does pricing.

For example: A direct flight from Cincinnati to Sarasota quoted recently on Delta.com was $1,121. Dayton to Sarasota the same day (with stopover in Cincinnati) was $263 round-trip. This makes no sense at all.

I suspect that there are quite a few of us who will go out of our way to avoid Delta's ridiculous prices.

James Todd, Blue Ash

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Carbon dioxide information incorrect

Mike Boyer's Sept. 10 article, "Cinergy to reduce airborne emissions," used a sidebar to explain the different gases.

The part covering carbon dioxide is incorrect in one respect. It indicates carbon dioxide results from incomplete combustion of carbon, when it actually results from complete combustion of carbon.

Also, it noted that most living things release carbon dioxide when they exhale, so I hope the EPA never gets the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.

Peter J. Lynch, Anderson Township

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Marines showed devotion during Isabel

"Hoo-Rah!" Hats off to the Marines.

Recently the Marines, who provide the honor guard for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, were given permission to leave their post for the first time in history due to hurricane Isabel. They chose not to and walked their post through the worst of that storm.

It does my heart good to know that there are always people like these to whom the concepts of honor, duty and responsibility actually mean something.

I only wish Channel 9 would have given this more than 15 seconds of airtime.

Ed Diehl, Erlanger

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Merit scholars deserve a round of applause

As a St. Xavier alumnus (class of 1971) and a former trustee of the school, I read with great pride the Sept. 18 story about St. Xavier's 28 National Merit semi-finalists.

I also noted that according to the article Seven Hills School produced 15 National Merit semi-finalists, with a high-school enrollment of fewer than 300 students. That is just as interesting a story, perhaps!

Michael A. Marrero, Downtown