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Cheers & Jeers

CHEERS to Trinity Health System for opening its new St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital on Monday. The community had been waiting eagerly. JEERS to indications that Belmont County has more cases of Lyme disease this year than any other area of the Buckeye State. The illness is carried by ticks that are associated with wildlife and pets. CHEERS to all of the teams, players and coaches featured in this year’s edition of Pigskin Preview, our annual look at the coming football season and what fans can expect from the gridiron. It published Tuesday. JEERS to the ongoing financial and ...

Achieving equality in Ohio

Just a few days ago was the 105th anniversary of women being granted the right to vote in this country. Ohio was among the first states to ratify the 19th Amendment, 12 days after the U.S. Senate passed the amendment and set off the ratification process. Today, the Buckeye State isn’t faring so well in terms of equality for women, as WalletHub’s “Best and Worst States for Women’s Equality in 2025” ranks Ohio 41st. States such as Hawaii, Nevada, Maryland, Maine and Oregon are doing wonderfully for women. Ohio, on the other hand, is 32nd for earnings gap, 40th for executive ...

Supporting new graduates

State officials are working toward bringing more supports to public high school students who are already thinking about life after graduation. Last week, Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce announced $7.1 million for the Career Pathway Support Networks Request for Applications. The money is part of a two-year effort to prepare students for in-demand careers through “advising, mentoring, exposure to various professions, and expanded career-technical education,” according to DeWine’s office. Funding will be distributed among the seven JobsOhio ...

Follow school bus rules

School is already in session for many students in Ohio, and will be soon for those in West Virginia. With the beginning of the school year comes a possible change to our morning or afternoon driving routines, as school buses filled with children will be everywhere. Get back in the mindset of giving yourself plenty of time to get to your destination during pick-up and drop-off hours. School buses may be a little slower and make frequent stops, but the drivers are not out to get you, personally. Their job is to make sure kids get to and from school safely. And they can do that because ...

Stay safe, drive sober

“If you feel different, you drive different. Drive high, get a DUI.” That’s the theme of an effort by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to help local law enforcement be highly visible from now through Labor Day as they crack down on those taking the risk to drive impaired. Even in states such as Ohio where (despite lawmakers’ best efforts to subvert the voters’ will) adult-use cannabis is legal for recreational use, it is still illegal to drive under the influence. It doesn’t matter what substance is to blame. But, ...

Keep visitors coming

Buckeye State officials had good reason to celebrate this week, as they took a look at the economic impact of tourism in Ohio in 2024. According to a news release from the state Department of Development, Ohio saw 3.5 million more visitors in 2024 than in 2023 — about 242 million visitors. Approximately 20% booked an overnight stay. State officials say that meant $57 billion in economic impact and $4.7 billion in state and local tax revenue. For the state’s purposes, tourism “supports” more than 443,000 jobs. It’s an industry we know holds up its end of the bargain for ...