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Get ready to soak up the sun and some fun

Editor’s note: Publication of this column was delayed by an email system error. Look for the next installment of Jackee Pugh’s commentary on local tourism in the July 7 edition. Belmont County is gearing up for an exciting summer full of events! From annual festivals to one-of-a-kind local events — it’s officially festival season! You and your family can enjoy attending one of our 30-plus festivals that celebrate heritage, history, our communities and of course — food! It’ll be easy to keep busy all summer long in friendly, beautiful Belmont County! With Memorial ...

You can make a decision first and then make it right

Fifty years ago in Albion, Michigan, my friend Harry (who I met at a local bar) asked me to move in with him and share the rent on a farmhouse 10 miles north of town, out in the country. It meant moving out of my small inexpensive and comfortable apartment in town. I convinced John, a friend who was an engineer like me, to join us. The move was a major change after growing up in Pittsburgh and then living on busy Michigan Avenue in Albion. In the country, I had trouble sleeping initially because it was so quiet. All I could hear was the sound of frogs, toads, and crickets. Occasionally ...

Grilling up some summertime favorites

My husband, Mike, and I undertook a dreaded task recently — cleaning the grill. I don’t mean that we heated it up and scraped any loose debris from the grates. I mean we cleaned it. We disassembled everything, used oven cleaner and degreaser on all the parts and really scrubbed everything down. It was a messy, unpleasant job that we did on a day that was a bit too chilly to be using the garden hose, but we did it. And boy am I glad we did! There’s just something special about grilling something up for dinner. It’s a practice that not only provides you with a tasty meal, ...

Drone wars are exposing America’s Achilles heel

As the U.S. struggles to counter China’s dominance of mineral supply chains, Americans must recognize far more is at stake in this industrial arms race than just economic competitiveness. Our national security hangs in the balance—and quite literally so do the lives of our sailors, soldiers, and marines. Consider the emergence of industrialized drone warfare in Ukraine. Drones, particularly small drones—not tanks or hypersonic missiles—have become decisive weapons. The surge in small drones has turned the front lines into a no-man’s land for soldiers and vehicles ...

Freedom takes courage, determination

This week is the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the largest naval, air and land operation in history. Its success created a path to victory for the Allies 11 months later. Thousands of Americans died in the invasion and the battles that followed. One cemetery in France contains the graves of over 9,000 Americans. Their average age was 22. A thought-provoking quote heard this week, “They gave their tomorrows for our today.” Our soldiers fought and died for parents, spouses, children and future grandchildren they would never see. Two of my uncles were in the D-Day invasion. ...

Overcoming indifference, the examples are here!

In a recent CBS 60 Minutes interview with Norah O’Donnell, Pope Francis said, “We have become used to the suffering of others; It doesn’t affect me; It doesn’t concern me; It’s none of my business. In this globalized world, we have fallen into global indifference. Overcome indifference with acts of charity.” Pope Francis makes a good point. Every day we are blasted with stories of refugees and human suffering from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Floods and tornados across the U.S. kill people and destroy homes. There are accidents, fires, violent crime and injustice globally ...