MCGS, This story is relevant because, not only do a lot of us have ancestors from Ohio, but also what is happening there can happen here too.... http://www.advertiser-tribune.com/edit/story/0128202004_edtedit0128.asp Please forward this to other genealogy lists. Scott Trimble Location Scout www.ststp.com >>TERRORISM CONCERNS PUT CRIMP ON RECORDS >>The Seneca County Advertiser-Tribune, 28 January 2004 >> >>Big Brother may not be watching you -- but he's going to make it >>difficult for you to peek into the lives of your ancestors if they >>happened to be Ohioans. >> >>Access to documents such as birth and death records is being restricted >>by Buckeye State officials who claim they are acting against terrorists >>and other criminals. And, by the way, it is going to become much more >>expensive for you to obtain copies of such records. >> >>It is an open records issue not likely to be taken on by the press -- >>reporters are more interested in how much money your county commissioners >>spent on travel last year than on learning the names of their >>great-great-grandparents -- but it is, nevertheless, unacceptable. >> >>Officials say easy access to old records makes it easier for identity >>theft criminals to operate. And, they say, it helps terrorists establish >>false identities. Perhaps so, but those bent on obtaining the information >>they need for such misdeeds won't even be slowed down by the new rules. >>They will find other ways to get the information. >> >>Historians and genealogists, most of them amateurs who just want to know >>more about their ancestors, will be handicapped severely, however. Some >>simply will not be able to afford the new fees state officials say will >>be imposed. According to one news story on the changes, "photocopies that >>once cost as little as 25 cents per page must now be obtained by formal >>request at $15 or more per page." >> >>It gets worse: The state Department of Health is considering whether to >>confiscate some collections of records held by libraries, historical >>societies and genealogy groups. >> >>It all is an unnecessary restriction of the rights of Ohioans to learn >>about their own history, sometimes their own families -- and they >>shouldn't stand for it. >> >>© 2004, The Advertiser-Tribune, Tiffin, OH ======================================================================== SCOTT T.S. TRIMBLE www.ststproductions.com LOCATION MANAGER / LOCATION SCOUT www.usa-movies.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do." -- Mark Twain ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." -- Ferris Bueller's Day Off ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "You know what the three most exciting sounds in the world are? Anchor chains, plane motors, and train whistles." -- It's a Wonderful Life ========================================================================

well... it is best to get the List Admin's permission before posting messages like this. Not all will agree it is appropriate to their list's topic. Better to check first, than to "get in dutch" with the List Admin. you can write [email protected] to reach any admin -- changing "listname" to the name of the list. For example, to reach me to ask permission to post "off topic" items, you would write to [email protected] Also for items of a wide interest to Genealogists, it is also good to send to Myra for the Rootsweb Review or Dick for his Eastman's Newsletter, rather than having many of the 27,875 lists post the same message. You can reach them via: [email protected] http://www.eogn.com/home/ Thanks for the info Scott. Happy Trails, Lauren MarinGenSoc List Admin Scott Trimble wrote: > > MCGS, > > This story is relevant because, not only do a lot of us have ancestors from > Ohio, but also what is happening there can happen here too.... > > http://www.advertiser-tribune.com/edit/story/0128202004_edtedit0128.asp > > Please forward this to other genealogy lists. > > Scott Trimble <snip>