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25 Belmont County experiences to embrace in 2025

As the holiday season’s hustle and bustle fades into cherished memories, we turn our focus to the promise of a new year—a time to reflect, recharge, and look ahead with anticipation. Belmont County is brimming with excitement for another year of memorable experiences, beloved traditions, and new adventures. So, here are 25 things I’m looking forward to experiencing in 2025: 1. Winter Hike Beat the winter blues and join the Captina Conservancy in February to view the beautiful ice sculptures and evergreen hemlocks at Raven Rocks. Bring sturdy shoes and dress in warm layers. ...

Wham! Some unexpected holiday fun online

It isn’t often that I get involved in online trends, games or groups, but when a former neighbor invited me to participate in his Facebook-based “Whamageddon” challenge, I decided to give it a try. Here’s how it worked: The object of the game was to avoid hearing the song “Last Christmas” by the English pop duo Wham! The game began Dec. 1 and continued until midnight Dec. 24. Other versions of the song were exempt — only the original by Wham! would disqualify contenders, who were considered “out” as soon as they recognized that they were hearing the song. Those who ...

Aim high, set tough goals and start 2025 with a win

Pre-pandemic when I had a gym membership I hated January. The place was packed with strangers working on their New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, get fit, etc., causing me to wait for the equipment I needed for my workout. Workouts took longer. The first time it happened a friend said, “Be patient. By February most will be gone.” He was right. By February it was business as usual. Lynnda and I are reviewing last year’s goals, in the process of setting goals for 2025. When I teach leadership, I tell people to have high goals. I believe it is better to have a high ...

Looking back and forward as another year arrives

Here we are again, looking in the rearview mirror at another year gone by. 2024 provided quite a ride for people in Eastern Ohio and all around the world. We shared some of those experiences with some of our global neighbors, but some of those experiences were unique to our region. Locally, the year began with our congressman, Bill Johnson, stepping away from that job to become the president of Youngstown State University. That set in motion a series of events that included a special election to determine who would complete his term. As the weather began to warm, it also began to ...

Building trust — the truth starts with us

Over Christmas I think we saw the classic movie “A Christmas Story” three times. It was playing in the background Christmas Day. I can relate to the entire movie, except growing up we had a natural gas and not a coal furnace. Dad was a master at changing fuses in the basement after we overloaded a circuit and our lights went out. He bought fuses by the box. We had one bathroom for our entire family of eight people. I remember the big snowsuits, snowball fights, the store windows decorated for Christmas and going to see Santa Claus. We had bullies like in the movie. Mine was a ...

For some reason, my weekends are going to the dogs

I am an animal lover — a fact evidenced by the numerous pets that have passed through my life — and dogs, in particular, seem to respond to me and me to them. A week ago, I had the chance to help a couple of pups in what seemed to be an oddly coincidental series of events. First, I traveled to the Columbus area with my brother, Larry Compston, to attend a birthday party for his twin granddaughters, Ellie and Grace, who turned 1 year old last weekend. We arrived to find a house brimming with happy people, including six children. As we greeted everyone and started to enjoy a ...