BARNESVILLE — The results of an opinion poll, dubbed “Bean Poll” because opinions were expressed by placing dried beans in jars, seem to show a majority of Ohio Valley residents agree on views toward COVID and the Ukraine war.

Beyond checking the pulse of area citizens, the purposes of these opinion polls are to stimulate thinking and discussion about government policies and public affairs, and to promote awareness that contributes to good citizenship and intelligent voting.

The two “Bean Polls” were conducted at the Barnesville Pumpkin Festival from Sept. 23-25 by Ohio Valley PEACE, a nonprofit “Peace Education and Community Effort” according to its website, that urges government to: pursue peace, not war; respect international law; and hold in high regard all human life. The organization holds meetings at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling.

Similar “Bean Polls” were conducted at the Pumpkin Festival in 18 previous years. While festival visitors were invited to participate, those doing so volunteered. The results of these informal polls give an indication of the sentiment of folks in this area, though a scientifically designed poll might produce more accurate numbers.

Both opinion polls consisted of six questions, each attached to a pair of Mason jars. Participants chose a response by dropping a dried bean in one of the jars. About 90 people responded to each question.

The poll titled “WHAT ABOUT UKRAINE” consisted of the following six questions with the indicated response percentages:

∫ Have our government and media been honest about the reasons Ukraine and Russia are at war? Yes — 20%, No — 80%

∫ The US has sent $54 billion in weapons and supplies to the war in Ukraine, should we be doing this? Yes — 34%, No — 60%

∫ Is the potential for NATO nuclear missile installations in Ukraine a reasonable concern for Russia? Yes — 60%, No — 40%

∫ Would Ukrainians do better to negotiate a peace agreement, even if the price is neutrality? Yes — 59%, No — 41%

∫ Should the U.S. support Ukraine in negotiating peace sooner rather than later? Yes — 82%, No — 18%

∫ Will there be food shortages in the U.S. sometime during the next two years? Yes — 86%, No — 14%

∫ A second poll named “WHAT ABOUT COVID” offered the following six questions:

∫ Should the government and employers be able to mandate COVID vaccines? Yes — 21%, No — 79%

∫Was COVID-19 as serious as the government made it out to be? Yes — 34%, No — 66%

∫ Did our government ignore and/or suppress good early treatment options for COVID-19? Yes — 72%, No — 28%

∫ Do you feel the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus was created in a laboratory? Yes — 81%, No — 19%

∫ The Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) shows 30,796 deaths after COVID vaccinations. Should our government investigate this? Yes — 82%, No — 18%

∫ “Unknown” is now a leading cause of death (last year it was No. 1 in Alberta, Canada). Do you believe this is linked to COVID vaccines? Yes — 65%, No — 35%