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Get educated and vote

Tuesday was National Voter Registration Day. Wednesday was Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. In other words, it is a week during which Americans are asked to think a little harder about what our founders had in mind when they were signing the Constitution back in 1787, and whether we are holding up our end of the bargain. In 2004, the late U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., tacked on an amendment to the omnibus spending bill that modified the law so that during the federal observance of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, publicly funded educational institutions and federal ...

Cheers & Jeers

CHEERS to St. Clairsville City Council for opting to name a stretch of roadway in the city for retired police chief Martin Kendzora. JEERS to news that funding cuts in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” could lead to health care shortages in West Virginia and rural parts of other states, as Medicaid programs take a hit. CHEERS to the Sons and Daughters of Italy in Bellaire for staging yet another successful (and sold out) Italian cooking demonstration on Sunday. It seemed everyone present learned something new and enjoyed their meal. JEERS to the political violence that is costing ...

Improving kids’ oral health

In the Buckeye State, particularly in rural or lower-income regions, not all kids are able to get regular care from a dentist. It’s a generations-old problem, but between 2022 and 2024 CareQuest Institute for Oral Health and Oral Health Ohio tried a pilot program to do something about it. Through Medical Oral Expanded Care, the project incorporated oral health checks into kids’ annual well child visits with their pediatricians, according to a report by the Statehouse News Bureau. The pilot involved more than 1,000 children. Rebekah Mathews, vice president of health ...

Ohio to handle its own maps

Though the results of Ohio’s latest redistricting attempt have yet to be seen, state House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, should be commended for one thing: He says he will not give in to pressure from the White House to draw maps that meet the approval of President Donald Trump. “I’m most interested in what residents of the state of Ohio have to say,” Huffman said, according to the Ohio Capital Journal. “Of course, the President of the United States is an important person too, but there are 11 million+ people in the state of Ohio.” Sure, he’s already firing shots about ...

Realities of credit card debt

When it comes to economic indicators, the big national metrics don’t always reflect what is happening in ordinary households. But families certainly understand what it means for them if they are forced to rely more on credit cards to get by. According to WalletHub’s “States with Largest and Smallest Credit Card Debt Increases,” released this month, Ohio has the eighth-largest credit card debt increase in the country in the second quarter. In the Buckeye State, the average credit card debt increased by $858,373 from Q1. The average household in the state owes $9,352 in credit ...

A new strategy for hunting

Southeast Ohio is facing the largest outbreak in the region’s confirmed cases of epizootic hemorrhagic disease in deer. An Ohio Division of Wildlife deer biologist told The Columbus Dispatch this year’s outbreak is the largest he has seen in his career, and that hundreds of dead or sick deer have been reported in Athens, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble and Washington counties. Counties along the Ohio River in West Virginia have been affected, too. The disease had not been confirmed in Belmont, Harrison or Jefferson counties as of late July, but it is nearby — and confirmed in ...