BRIEF VIDEO CLIPS OF FRACKING "DEBATE" AT OAKWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL - JANUARY 20, 2011 - "A CIVIL AFFAIR"

UPDATE & REVISED 01/22/2011

The SCPR has put together a number of video clips of the Plain Township trustee/RonPonder-PointsToPonder/Representative Kirk Schuring sponsored debate of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas held at the Oakwood Middle School (located in Plain) last evening.

Reduced to its simplest terms, the debate boiled down to the oil and gas industry representatives (Tom Stewart, executive vice president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, and Steve Grose, a Stark Countian formerly with Range Resources Corporation) and environmentalist advocates (Nadia Steinzor of Earthworks Oil & Gas Accountability Project and Dusty Horwitt of the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C.) agreeing to disagree on whether or not fracking was worth the risk of environmental damage.

The debate was ably moderated by WHBC NewsTalk 1480's Ron Ponder, host of Points to Ponder.

There was a hint, pre-debate, that there might be a confrontation between one of the chief organizers of the environmentalist side of the argument Christine Borello and Ponder as to who was going to be permitted to speak on behalf of the environmentalists.

However, Ponder, in his suave but firm style maintained control of the agenda of the debate and all went very smoothly.

A SCPR "hats off" to Ponder, Representative Schuring and the Plain Township trustees (principally Louis Giavasis) for organizing and hosting this very important discussion.

What follows is a "in their own words" video compendium of the various participants in the proceedings.

PART ONE - OPENING STATEMENTS - BOSLEY V. SNITCHLER DEBATE 07/28/2010 ("POINTS TO PONDER" WHBC-1480AM)

In the opinion of the SCPR, the "Todds Debate" (Democrat challenger [Stark County Commissioner] Todd Bosley versus Republican incumbent state Representative Todd Snitchler) was a draw.

Ron Ponder who is a talk show host on WHBC-1480 with his program "Points to Ponder" very effectively managed the debate and thereby provided Stark Countians who live in the 50th Ohio House District (Marlboro, Nimishillen, Pike, Sandy, Sugarcreek, Perry [part], Tuscarawas, Lawrence and Lake Townships) with a good look at the varying views of the two Todds.

Ponder and WHBC are doing a tremendous public service for the Stark County public in doing this debate as well as arranging for a number of debates between Stark County candidates in other races.   Moreover, Ponder is working on putting together appearances by the likes of Governor Strickland and his Republican opponent John Kasich, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rob Portman and Democrat Lee Fisher among others.

Over the next several days the SCPR will be posting the "Todds Debate" in segments.  Each posting will contain a posting of five minutes or so that are broken down into the opening statements, the issues that Ponder raised with the candidates - one by one - and the closing statements.

The Report thanks Ron Ponder and WHBC for allowing the SCPR to videotape this debate.

As the SCPR learns of other Ponder programming focusing on candidates running in November, The Report will endeavor to get the information to blog readers.

Here is the first segment of the "Todds Debate":  the opening statements.