Earlier this month, the Ohio State Highway Patrol conducted a special enforcement operation on a portion of Interstate 70 in the center of Belmont County. The speed limit in that area ranges from 65-70 mph, but troopers found that the average speed of motorists was 88 mph! Fortunately, no ...
Our family became a little bit bigger on Saturday with the arrival of Tessa Ann Compston. The second daughter of my nephew, Jim Compston, and his wife, Jordan, Tessa arrived in the wee hours of Saturday morning. She weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces, and she appears to be healthy and perfect in ...
Last week I was working on a Shale Crescent USA project out of my home office when my doorbell rang. It was Bradley, my 7-year-old neighbor from across the street. He asked, “Mr. Kozera, will you catch football with me?” Bradley is a good kid. His mother is deployed with the military, so ...
Recently, I brought together a diverse group of Ohio faith leaders to discuss ways to better protect our houses of worship in the face of a troubling trend — rising numbers of hate-fueled attacks in our country and around the world. Here in America, our Jewish neighbors often bear the worst ...
When was the last time you received a letter in the mail? I’m not talking about a utility bill or a mass mailing generated by a computer. I’m talking about a genuine letter from someone who actually knows you — maybe even one that was written by hand. I cannot recall the last time I ...
I am really looking forward to Wednesday night. That evening, I plan to stroll the streets of Barnesville while waiting for a king to be crowned. It’s become an annual tradition at The Times Leader for me to cover the King Pumpkin Weigh-In on Wednesday during the week of the Barnesville ...
“To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” -- Mahatma Gandhi, Indian activist That concept rings true to me. Throughout my entire life, I have been interested in growing things - a trait that seems to run in both sides of my family. Anyone who has read ...
“Somebody might need that someday.” That’s a phrase I came to dread as a kid. It was my dad’s philosophy on life. He was a child of the Depression and the oldest of seven boys growing up in Jackson County, Ohio, so he was well acquainted with making every little thing count. The fact ...
It’s no secret that the 2020 Democrat candidates have been sprinting further to the left in their embrace of big-government policies. But, their recent debates in Detroit should set off alarm bells throughout Ohio, West Virginia, and the entire Midwest that they will stop at nothing to crush ...
It’s hard to believe that the students are back in school and summer is quickly winding down. I’m sure many parents are sighing a big relief right now. Not necessarily because their little ones are back in school, but because getting them on a set schedule is usually most helpful to the ...
In the words of Henry Grantland Rice, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” The early 20th century sportswriter knew a lot about sportsmanship. Born in 1880 in Tennessee, he wrote about sports for southern newspapers and traveled the region working as a ...
You’re all somewhat familiar with the tale of Peter Rabbit. Well, I’m here to tell you, it is based in reality. The story by British author Beatrix Potter begins with young Peter Rabbit and his sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail, passing their days with mischievous behavior. Peter ...
Monte Miller simply had a way about him. Whether it was the athletes he coached, the students he taught or even some of the less fortunate that he mentored, Miller had an uncanny way to get the most out of everyone he crossed paths with. It was a gift. It’s a gift that left this world far ...
In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it can be easy to become frustrated with the people and circumstances that surround you. Over the past couple of weeks, however, I instead have been impressed with some of what I have seen. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump traveled to Wheeling for ...
DETROIT (AP) — When Barack Obama was on the ballot in 2008 and 2012, there was no question that Terrance Holmes would vote for the first black president. But as he helped fix cars this week at a repair shop on Detroit’s west side, he recalled his ambivalence about the 2016 campaign. “I ...
I will never forget what my drivers’ education instructor told us in high school: “If you ever have to leave the roadway, never focus on the tree or utility pole you want to miss. You will surely hit it. Focus on the open space between them.” This has proven to be good advice for me. ...
I don’t remember the first time I met John Mattox, but by the time I was 8 years old or so, I knew exactly who he was — a Union Local Board of Education member, an area businessman, father of two children who attended Flushing Elementary where my mother taught and the kind of person you ...
This week 50 years ago on July 20, 1969, I was sitting in the living room with my parents and five brothers watching Walter Cronkite and the first moon landing on our black and white TV. There was a lot of excitement, tension (we didn’t know how things would work out) and pride to be an ...
Fifty years ago this week, one of Ohio’s greatest sons, Neil Armstrong, became the first man to walk on the Moon. On July 20, 1969, the world watched in awe as grainy footage beamed in from the lunar surface 289,000 miles away to millions of TV screens around the globe. As a 13-year-old, I ...
We Americans love to travel. Whether it’s a cross-country trip or a poker run atop a motorcycle on a sunny Saturday, many of us love to take to the open road. So why do we also dump our trash on roadsides, ruining the view for everyone? I know I have written several times before about how ...