Road Blog: Barack in New Philadelphia, OH

Jim Parrish, Fire Chief of New Philadelphia, had the crowd count at 220 in the quad at Kent State Tuscarawas (KST). A hot and humid day for a town hall, but with summer winding down and kids going back to school, folks are starting to focus more and more on this upcoming election.

Gabrielle Neavin, a student at KST and a single mom, served as today’s introducer. Gabrielle would like to be a teacher one day but is having a hard time making it on her own. She has had multiple jobs to support her daughter while going to school, but rising costs of everything from gas to food has her putting more of her household expenses on credit cards. The debts can mount up fast.

Sometimes the issues don’t seem as personal. Barack once said that there was nothing sexy about the word "infrastructure" but that it plays a major role in our economy, not only presenting problems as it crumbles, but presenting opportunities to put Americans back to work.

Here is video from his town hall dealing with the issue of infrastructure:

Arun Chaudhary
September 3rd, 20008
New Philadelphia, OH