The (Toledo) Blade, Oct. 2

A mature society, like a mature individual, must face its problems and find a way to deal with them.

A functioning government does not declare the difficult problems before it as too difficult to deal with. That applies whether the problem is drinking water, lead, ISIS, street gangs, or immigration.

President Trump gave a straight-forward and restrained response to the tragedy Monday. But, ultimately, the government must respond to the death of more than 50 people and the wounding of 500 more, in Las Vegas Sunday night, with policy.

America must come to grips with the anger and hatred now afoot in our culture.

And it must, in practical and constitutional ways, come to terms with gun violence.

With no other problem in modern times, from unsafe autos to terrorist states, have Americans readily accepted the proposition that, really, nothing can be done.

Imagine if medicine approached disease the way America approaches gun violence.

Our culture of violence has many sources, from hate speech on the Internet to violence in our films and pop music. But there are three great wells of this violence: a spiritual and moral crisis that has produced individual desolation and nihilism for millions of people; a mental health crisis that has released thousands of sick people to the streets; and a governmental crisis in which, local, state, and federal authorities have failed to protect public safety in instances both spectacular and repeated.

The third may seem the most intractable problem. It may seem a matter of “influence,” and lobbying power. But actually that part of the crisis would disappear if Americans believed in the efficacy of democratic government and the inherent integrity of their own lives.

We must deal with our country’s gun problem, our anger problem, and our incompetence in dealing with the mentally ill, so that we can deal with our democracy, and our reality, and our God and man problems.

Online: http://bit.ly/2fLsfEH

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Akron Beacon Journal, Oct. 2

David Hamilton and colleagues on the Summit County Council are right to form a task force or committee to examine operations and finances at the county jail. The impetus is the death of Anthony Jones, an inmate who died after an altercation with sheriff’s deputies last month. Any such death at the jail rates as a failure.

Sheriff Steve Barry moved smartly to ask the Stark County sheriff’s office to conduct the investigation of the fatal incident. That effort continues, and it is crucial that Stark officials examine fully what happened, their work comprehensive and findings credible.

What Hamilton has proposed is something complementary and no less important. This is an opportunity to look broadly at the jail. The committee shouldn’t be an exercise in casting blame. Rather, the focus should be making improvements at an entity that consumes a large share of the county budget. If the sheriff’s office accounts for roughly 30 percent of county spending, the jail represents the largest of portion of that sum.

Managing the jail has been a test for decades. Studies and assessments have been performed in the past. The jail operation now faces mounting strains resulting largely from the state slashing funding for local governments.

The county has attempted to adjust. It has closed a wing of the jail. It has contracted with Geauga County to take inmates. It has adopted double-bunking and sharply reduced programming, including counseling for anger management.

What that means is the sheriff and deputies are without key tools for managing the jail effectively. Sheriff Barry has reason to warn about safety at risk.

As a practical matter, the county cannot expect to continue indefinitely on this course of half-measure. It is not sustainable, especially when 2016 saw the most man days served at the jail in a decade.

For the committee, that means weighing a range of priorities and factors, from the need to increase staffing to the role of drug treatment, from reviving programs and services to exploring options for those inmates with mental illness. Much depends on the capacity for community-based alternatives.

More, Gov. John Kasich proposes an added challenge. He wants to reduce the state prison population by diverting low-level felons to probation, local jails and alternative programs. Summit County appears willing to take up the task. The committee is positioned to help with the preparation.

Most of all, the committee has an opening to advance public understanding. The sheriff and deputies point to the stresses in running the jail. Others, especially in the black community, worry about conditions there. The committee provides a setting for both to meet.

If candid, the discussion must include a look at additional resources. The new state budget provides counties with the option of raising the local sales tax by 0.1 percentage points. The committee has a responsibility to ask whether that is the price of operating a safe, cost-effective jail.

Online: http://bit.ly/2xTzAZ0