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Fix prison staffing problems

According to a recent report by the Dayton Daily News, the Ohio state prison system was short more than 500 corrections officers at the end of last year. The Daily News conducted its investigation because Dayton Correctional Institution has the highest rate of openings, at 18.8%. Lebanon Correctional Institution has a vacancy rate of 11.5% and Warren Correctional Institution has a vacancy rate of 2.4%, the newspaper found. Those numbers are an improvement over the worst period in 2022, but still a significant problem for the system. Of course, state officials were eager to put a ...

Don’t let the flu knock you out

If it seems as though illness has been more prevalent in your school, church, office and other circles this winter, you’re not imagining things. According to Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, this year’s flu season has seen a stronger beginning than is typical. “You know, the typical pattern is that we see a relatively modest dip around the holidays, and then we see our major peak in mid-February,” he said, according to a report by WDTN. “What our data is showing us is that already, this year’s flu is having numbers that are consistently well above ...

Get house ready for cold

While there still might be some uncertainty as to how much snow the Ohio Valley might get from the incoming storm this weekend, one thing is for sure — it’s going to get cold. Very, very cold. Forecasts have low temperatures in the valley falling to 0 degrees Friday, in the teens over the weekend and negative numbers on Monday. Local residents can stay indoors, bundle up and turn on a heater to keep from freezing. Their water pipes can’t. A burst water pipe in weather like what is coming this weekend can be a nightmare, and forecasts are predicting conditions that create a ...

Teaching service to youth

The celebration in the Ohio Valley of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King through this past weekend and into Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday was inspiring, especially in the way that so many celebrations invited our community’s youth to participate. The Belmont County NAACP honored middle schoolers within its county at a Saturday luncheon, choosing students who their teachers and counselors believed best exemplified the leadership qualities King espoused. In Ohio County on Monday, students were honored for their winning work in West Virginia’s Martin Luther King Jr. State ...

Setting a new course in Shadyside

If what was said at this past week’s Shadyside Village Council meeting was any indication of the future of that governmental body, smoother waters will be found ahead. New Mayor Mike Meintel told those in attendance at the meeting that it would be a “new day in Shadyside.” “In the last three years, we haven’t done anything for citizens in this town, me included,” Meintel said. “But we are moving forward. That is all behind us. We are moving forward and we are going to make Shadyside a better community and give the citizens and taxpayers what they want.” There have ...

Keep the flu at bay

It is the season during which many of us simply accept that we will get the common cold or come down with the flu, but failure to do all we can to prevent such viruses can be dangerous. In some cases, it can be deadly. Recently, Ohio reported its first pediatric flu death of the season — a teenager under 18 in Greene County, according to state health officials. In fact, each year there are between one and seven pediatric flu deaths in the state. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nationwide 6,300 to 52,000 people died from the flu annually between 2010 ...