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Editor, News-Register:
When I was 19 years old, my brother and I worked and hitchhiked through nine countries in Africa. One of many lessons you must learn quickly is that there is something that comes above food and shelter and that is safety. Wheeling lacks this safety currently as it allows these campsites that are lawless drug dens, which is the last place I would camp if I were homeless. It lacks compassion for the weak, the honest, and the law-abiding.
It lacks compassion for the working class and those who pay the bills. It is hypocrisy that the law-abiding have become second-class citizens. If a working-class person doesn't pay their taxes, the city will take their property. The mountains of trash and used needles throughout Wheeling are cleaned up by the city. However, if a citizen of Wheeling were caught littering, they would receive a fine. My friend left Brewfest in Wheeling and was fined for having an open container, but I must explain to my child that there is a woman shooting heroin in her body in front of the Civic Center.
Laws that are not applied equally are unjust laws.
Wheeling lacks compassion for those who can afford to be charitable. It is chasing away the tax base by using up our resources and prolonging the issue. It lacks compassion like giving someone a step stool and a sandwich before jumping off a bridge. These drugs found in the camps are mentally destroying and killing people. I want to see Wheeling do better than this, as facilitating this outrageous drug epidemic is the same as enabling it.
When I bought a building in Market Plaza in 2019, we had a tax advantage for businesses over the Tri-State area. Now we are at a tax disadvantage, with added fines gouging those who have an empty building. The only reason the building was unable to keep a tenant was the homeless trespassing into the building and threatening secretaries inside. The city of Wheeling will fine you progressively up to $5,000 per year for an empty building. It is hard to rent a building out when there are needles and human feces on your doorstep. Businesses are forced to lock their doors during business hours.
Wheeling was once known as the safest city. At least 85% of the homeless are not from Wheeling and this causes the charity and police force to be overwhelmed.
The United States has a major drug epidemic sweeping across the nation like a tidal wave. Some cities reacted well, and many fall into sections of lawless disorder. I believe in the idea of having a designated safe place for them to camp with a police presence. They should be following the same laws we do. These drugs should not be welcome in Wheeling. We should help those who want to be helped. We need to enforce vagrancy laws.
I was in Uniontown, a city much like ours, but did not see empty buildings and store fronts. I saw bars and restaurants full of people, many of whom were walking safely at night. Wheeling is seeing a renaissance in commercial real estate. With all the construction and restoration happening everywhere I am, for the first time in my life, seeing people move here to buy up old buildings for the purpose of restoring them. Wheeling has so much to offer and can be a wonderful place to live. Wheeling could have a bright future but if people do not feel safe, it is over.
Andrew Hogan
Wheeling