Clairton in 20 years

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PHealy wrote:

A three point strategy:
1. Destroy the Clairton Coke Works....shut it down, blow it up and then plough it under.
No is going to want to live anywhere near it if they can go anywhere else -- no one WANTS to die.
2. Attract alternative industries.
This will bring in a better class of people.
3. Take the streets and the schools back from the
gangs -- this last is likely to involve more
than a little bit of shooting.
A simple plan -- yes....all it needs is a
REVOLUTION

C town gal wrote:

<quoted text> Stricter EPA standards, diminishing demand for coke products and massive layoffs is what CAUSED the city to deteriorate. Given a choice between cleaner air and providing a good living for your family, I think most people that live in the Mon Valley would chose the latter. Sorry, but that is my opinion.

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PHealy wrote:

<quoted text>
I said it before and I'll say it again.....an awful lot of plants do manage to meet EPA standards. Frankly, there is something about a multibillion dollar corporation always whining and poor mouthing that is not very credible.
There ARE other industries out there that are very lucrative if efforts were made to promote, develop and/or attract them -- but who wants to live or work around the Clairton Coke Works if they can live or work somewhere else?
No one wants to die.
Massive layoffs? Just another component of there war against the common people.
Standard of living -- there are less deadly alternates.....what good is a "standard of living" if the price is no being able to live

PHealy wrote:

<quoted text>
I said it before and I'll say it again.....an awful lot of plants do manage to meet EPA standards. Frankly, there is something about a multibillion dollar corporation always whining and poor mouthing that is not very credible.
There ARE other industries out there that are very lucrative if efforts were made to promote, develop and/or attract them -- but who wants to live or work around the Clairton Coke Works if they can live or work somewhere else?
No one wants to die.
Massive layoffs? Just another component of there war against the common people.
Standard of living -- there are less deadly alternates.....what good is a "standard of living" if the price is no being able to live

JMan wrote:

<quoted text>
CTowngal, I totally agree with you. Whenever we lost our industry, our town began to deteriorate. PHealy: I don't understand why you are always so willing to blame the coke works for all of this town's problems. Yes, it would be nice to actually have a riverfront and cleaner air, but we don't. Sorry, but the coke works isn't going anywhere. Honestly, I think the coke works has kept Clairton from deteriorating more than it has. Look at the other Mon Valley towns that completely lost ALL of their industry. The taxes that come in from the coke plant provide alot of the money that will help the re-building begin. We can't just plow it over and bring in new industry overnight. Our neighboring towns are just beginning to redevelop their industrial brownfields after years of vacancy. Without the coke works, Clairton would lose big time. I know it and deep down you know it. If you don't think that's true, then you need to wake up and smell the coffee.

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C town gal wrote:

<quoted text> Sure, all the mill workers could go to work in the newest crown jewel of Pennsylvania industry, "Gaming"!!! The only poisen gas emissions inside the casinos is the flatulence of senior citizens.....

Okie wrote:

The town was never nice to begin with. Even back when people say it was nice.

PHealy wrote:

<quoted text>
People romanticize the slave plantations of the antebellum south in literature and cinema. Why
not some movies and novels to romanticize the Clairton Coke Works? It DOES offer better pay and benefits!

CHS Grad wrote:

<quoted text>How about a movie about Clairton and the steelworker's mentality. Why not call it "The Deerhunter" and get, oh, I don't know, Robert Diniro to star... duuuuh

PHealy wrote:

<quoted text>
True.....but that did not really romanticize life in Clairton -- much less portray Vietnam as a glorious lost cause.....Still, it could serve as a starting point.

CHS Grad wrote:

<quoted text> Concentrate Little Grasshopper. Did not romanticize life in Clairton? Did you miss the opening scene about racing the semi and going into the bar after work? Did you miss the whole wedding scene with the Russian Baba, the giddiness of the bridesmaids and the male bonding? Did you forget the actula deer hunt? Perhaps you should rent the CD and watch it again.

PHealy wrote:

<quoted text>
I said it was a START.....but true "lost cause" literature would romanticize the Coke Works and it management.

D Joe wrote:

if it wasnt for the mill, the town wouldnt even be here. the town started cause of the mill.

JohnnyWad wrote:

<quoted text>
You speak intelligently, but your argument falls short mostly due to your anger and the personal nature in the way you attack. For someone who has roots to this town, I get the impression you do not have a great deal of empathy for the personal plite of those who remain. Would it be unreasonable to assume that you have family, friends or acquaintances who work in the coke works? What would they do if they were to suddenly lose their jobs, go on welfare? Sell crack on the corner? I grew up in Wilson, and I can still see my dad coming home after pulling the midnight shift - covered in filth and smelling like sweat and grime. He did what those in his generation did, and what those before him did. He didn't make a lot of money, but he earned it honestly and raised a family on it. He breathed that crap into his lungs every day, and I am happy to say that he is healthy at 78 and still going strong.
A little less rhetoric and a little more logical argument would be much appreciated.