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Cheers & Jeers

CHEERS to news that WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital will partner with Bridgeport Exempted Village School District to bring a health clinic to it to the schools’ new facility, the “Bridge.” JEERS to East Ohio Regional Hospital’s failure to pay employees for several days after their usual pay day. Regardless of the hospital’s challenges, they have earned their pay. CHEERS to word that the ECO Center on the campus of Ohio University Eastern will host the area’s first-ever state semifinal game. JEERS to the massive fire that destroyed five buildings in Moundsville. But CHEERS ...

Family caregivers deserve credit

Plenty of Ohio families are struggling with caring not only for children, but older family members who need full-time attention. Legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio 15th Dist., aims to lighten that load. The Credit for Caring Act would offer up to a $5,000 nonrefundable federal tax credit to offset family caregiving-related expenses. For example, those include home care aides, adult day services, home modifications and respite care. “We know that families want to support their loved ones through illness, disability and aging in place. The Credit for Caring Act ...

Pothole season has arrived

They appear before the flowers bloom. They are fed by road salt in the winter and begin to appear after the short warm spells that tease the arrival of spring. They are potholes, that annual curse on motorists and municipalities. The onset of potholes is something that is not to be taken lightly. They happen every year, and every year they become an increasing problem as motorists play dodge-the-hole in an effort to prevent damage to their vehicles. It can be a dangerous situation as drivers try to avoid potholes, sometimes swerving into the paths of oncoming vehicles or ...

Act on broadband

While Bill Johnson was serving Ohio’s 6th district in Congress, he tried twice — in 2021 and 2023 — to introduce legislation that would help Americans (particularly those living in rural areas) have easier access to broadband internet. His successor, Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, has taken up that mantle and again introduced the Wireless Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act. It may be an uphill battle, as others have also tried. U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., introduced the same bill in 2024 after Johnson resigned. None of these efforts ever left the ...

Ensure tax deal is fair

East Ohio Regional Hospital appears to be working to maintain its operation in Martins Ferry despite facing a number of challenges. Among those is a $1.2 million property tax bill that remained unpaid as of Feb. 27. The bill covers the past two tax years. Belmont County Treasurer Katherine Kelich told our reporter that East Ohio Regional Hospital Chief Operating Officer Julie Ross is working with her office to formulate a plan to tackle the “very large delinquency.” She said the delay in payment resulted in part from the hospital’s decision to appeal the county’s assessed value ...

Watching for wildlife

Though a recent SmileHub study placed Ohio as seventh-worst in the nation for protecting wildlife — using 17 metrics that included data on things like the number of animal and environmental protection agencies per capita — the Buckeye State must be doing something right. Flora and fauna that were thought long gone from the state are reappearing. Most recently, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources reported fishers (mammals related to river otters and weasels) are colonizing again in the state. According to ODNR, they’ve been missing from Ohio since the mid-1800s. Now, it ...