Your Turn: Your Feedback On AWOL Soldier, Job Fair & Food Prices

An AWOL soldier turned himself in to the Army last week. He said he deserted after he was told he would be sent to Iraq despite a medical evaluation that made him unfit for deployment.

Here’s one viewer’s response:

“My husband, SPC Justin D. Weaver, 10th Mountain Division 2-22, is currently serving in Iraq with a P3 profile… that is a NON COMBAT profile. He should not even be in that country, yet he was shipped out because they needed the head count. Tell me where that is not putting a soldier at risk!! The Army is not taking care of our soldiers the way they need to be.”

Jessica Weaver

During a job fair last week, officials said employers in northern New York have found themselves in a unique predicament - there too many open jobs and not enough people to fill them.

Here’s what a couple of you had to say:

“While there were a lot of businesses represented, there were not a lot of jobs available that had enough pay and benefits to support what has become a very expensive area to live in.”

Penny Moore
Clayton

“There is also a shortage of higher paying jobs for skilled and white collar professionals.”

John A. Bang
Chaumont

If you’ve been to the grocery store, you’ve probably noticed you’re reaching deeper into your wallet to pay for it. Food prices are expected to rise between three and four percent this year as retailers continue to pass on their higher costs to consumers.

Here’s a sampling of emails on that subject:

“It’s rough when a person has to make a choice between food or fuel to stay warm or medicine for a sick family member. It’s not just food prices, it’s everything.”

Colleen K. Grooms
Cape Vincent

“I realize that grocery stores need to pass price costs on to the consumer, but how much more can we take? Gas is going up, heating costs are going up and now food prices are going up. The only thing that isn’t going up is our pay.”

Name Withheld

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