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Getting students in schools

Ohioans deserve public schools in which students are educated to be informed, productive, critical thinking citizens ready to pursue the next step in their career or education with confidence. Our children deserve more than barely meeting the lowest of standards. But what about kids who aren’t making it to school at all? According to data from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, public school students in the state have an approximately 25.6% rate of chronic absenteeism. It is a problem to which many factors contribute: family circumstances — including being asked to get ...

Winter weather safety

Winter weather has arrived, and we have entered a season when we have even more reasons to be cautious about how we heat and light our homes. Working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are essential. On Christmas Day, four adult family members died in New Hampshire. “While the investigation remains active and ongoing, at this time, investigators believe the victims died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning,” said New Hampshire State Fire Marshal Sean Toomey. That investigation involves examining the home’s gas heating system — and the fact that the home did not have ...

Cheers & Jeers

CHEERS to St. Clairsville Sunrise Rotary for organizing the “Noon Year’s Eve “ celebration for children at the Ohio Valley Mall. It was a great success, providing families access to a variety of fun and information. JEERS to the fact that the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System presents roadblocks to public service for some who have worked within the system. CHEERS to Gold, Khourey & Turak for providing free rides for those who celebrated the new year by consuming alcohol, making roads around the local area safer for everyone. JEERS to the fact that a teenage girl was ...

Healthy habits for all of us

As the holidays brought many of us closer to friends and family — perhaps in large gatherings where there was lots of hugging, laughing and eating together — the inevitable early-winter surge of illnesses is now upon us. In fact, ahead of the New Year holiday, one healthcare system in Southeast Ohio was experiencing a high surge in patients with respiratory illnesses. For them, it meant it was time to implement visitor restrictions during what it called “respiratory illness season.” That change is also a good reminder to the rest of us going about our daily lives. We know ...

A fresh start for 2025

We’ve done it. We’ve reached the end of 2024 and are looking ahead to all the possibility 2025 holds. Some may be planning to put 2024 firmly behind them and not look back, others may have much upon which to build from one year to the next. Whatever the case — whether our dreams include making a national project of the year or just working harder on being the best we can be for ourselves and those around us — most of us can agree we are hoping for a year in which we are able to lift up one another and work toward the good of all. On a personal level, there may be resolutions ...

Time for tax reform

It is not just federal elected officials who have dropped the ball for their constituents as they got tired of pretending to work on our behalf before their holiday break. In Columbus, necessary change was avoided when Senate Bill 271 and House Bill 263 failed to advance, stalling the effort to reform property taxes. Nearly everyone agrees something must be done to protect taxpayers. But that knowledge has not translated into any sense of urgency. “I’ve talked to so many of our seniors, and sometimes crying over the phone, regarding this property tax issue,” state Sen. Hearcel ...