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Cheers & Jeers

CHEERS to all the churches and organizations offering Lenten fish frys this year. Not only are they appealing options for people who abstain from eating meat during Lent, but they are good fundraisers, too. JEERS to news that challenges continue to present themselves to the administrators at East Ohio Regional Hospital. CHEERS to word that work to repair and restore the Blaine Hill Bridge will begin sooner than originally projected, bringing the inconvenience caused by its closure to and end much more quickly. JEERS to the ongoing conflicts among village leaders in Yorkville. The ...

Give blood, get healthier

Most of us think of the American Red Cross for one of two reasons: blood donations and disaster response. But in March, the Red Cross is “helping to bridge access to health care for blood donors by providing free A1C testing, commonly used to screen for diabetes and prediabetes, on all successful blood, platelet and plasma donations.” In the region covered by the American Red Cross of the Ohio River Valley — 19 counties, from Jefferson to Washington on the Ohio side and from Hancock all the way down and over to Jackson and Roane in West Virginia — diabetes is a significant ...

Follow law on burning

Perhaps we should take it as a positive sign that we are moving out of winter and into spring and the Ohio Division of Forestry’s outdoor fire laws (for “kindled” fires) are once again in effect. From the beginning of March through November, outdoor open burning is prohibited statewide in unincorporated areas between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. This could mean anything from a proper burn barrel to burning of yard waste, trash and debris. “During spring, wildfire danger is high before plants have turned green, and in fall, fire danger is high due to abundant dry leaves and ...

Were Intel incentives wasted?

Economic development officials in Columbus and Franklin and Licking counties can be forgiven if they find themselves humming the tune to an early 1980s hit while they wonder when the next bad news will come from Intel Corp. After all, the company had nothing but “promises, promises” in the beginning. But Friday, the chipmaker announced it is again pushing back the planned opening of the semiconductor plant that was going to revolutionize the employment landscape in central Ohio. Now Intel says construction on the first of two planned factories in New Albany is expected to be ...

Resolve issues at EORH

The reopening of East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry in 2020 was hailed by many as a positive development for the entire region, but now there are troubling signs of financial difficulties for the privately owned facility. Following repeated reports of employees’ pay being delayed, a key employee, Chief Operating Officer Bernie Albertini, resigned, though his successor, Julie Ross, has insisted his decision to leave had nothing to do with payroll issues. Since his departure, we have learned that The Health Plan canceled employees’ health insurance policies due to ...

Give act some teeth

Back in 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that made animal cruelty a federal felony. The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act included penalties for the crime ranging from fines to up to seven years in prison or both. But PACT, it seems, was lacking teeth — or those in charge of giving it teeth lacked a sense of urgency. U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio 14th, has his heart in the right place, in again introducing legislation that would require the U.S. Department of Justice to establish an animal cruelty crimes section and “to vigorously pursue investigations and ...