Poor, Sad, and Dirty
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1/15/2010
I was born and raised here. The population has dropped in half since I left for greener pastures some years ago, and that probably sums up everything you need to know about this town. As far as employment opportunities are concerned, you might be able to find part-time work at Wal-mart or Bob Evans if you're lucky, but I wouldn't count on it. Some folks move to Steubenville because they're shocked at how cheap the houses are. Big mistake. You can find a run-down house to buy in the downtown area for about ten grand, but you'll be stuck with it forever. Nobody else will ever buy it. Most of the buildings downtown have just been boarded up or torn down. (Steubenville might have been a good place to start a parking lot business, but there aren't enough people around with cars that run.) Steubenville's politicians and civic leaders never tried to develop any new industries or tourist attractions over the years because they assumed the steel mills and the mafia would be there to keep things running. Alas, the community is now reaping the bitter fruits of its collective shortsightedness, stupidity, corruption and laziness. Storefronts are closed up, houses are crumbling, and city streets are cratered with unfixed potholes which give residents' shock absorbers a real work-out at the same time they enhancethe city's bombed-out ambience. Even the city's post office has been closed and mail is trucked to the Youngstown post office, fifty miles away, to get postmarked. One employer, Franciscan University, is a small 4-year Catholic college perched on a hilltop overlooking the Ohio River. It has survived so far by tailoring and marketing its programs to ultraconservative charismatics. Parents send their kids here to learn how to Speak in Tongues. Unfortunately, there aren't many jobs in Televangelism or Laying of Hands right now, so graduates high-tail it out of town as soon as the Commencement speaker has intoned the last "Amen." A few years ago, one young Steubenville native made a name for herself by going to California and becoming an underage porn star. Who can blame her? It was her ticket out of hell.
Dennis | Columbus, OH