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Safety top priority for hunting

Though our region includes a range of start dates for various hunting categories, for many local hunters, the big date on the calendar is the start of deer gun season on Dec. 2 in Ohio. For many, that date is about more than hunting. It’s about tradition, family — maybe time alone in the woods or with friends at a deer camp. That’s why it is so important to head into these seasons with safety in mind. That includes more than just firearm safety, though hunters should always be vigilant on that front. It includes tree stand safety, too. Departments of natural resources recommend ...

Roll up your sleeve and give

The American Red Cross of the Upper Ohio Valley is looking for some help from its “Friends” in another plea to get potential donors to step away from their busy schedules to roll up their sleeves. As a celebration of 30 years since the start of the beloved sitcom “Friends,” the Red Cross hopes donors will grab a friend “and be there for patients by making a blood donation.” Those who do so between Nov. 18 and Dec. 8 will get two pairs of Friends+Red Cross socks. Think of it as being an act in the spirit of “Friendsgiving.” “Festive activities and busy calendars ...

Cheers & Jeers

CHEERS to news that the Ohio Department of Transportation will reconstruct the historic Blaine Hill Bridge, but JEERS to the fact that work likely will not begin until 2027. JEERS to word that teens meeting with the Why Don’t You Stay A While group believe there is “nothing to do” in the Ohio Valley and feel that they are not being informed. CHEERS to the Belmont County Community Access, Resources, Education & Solutions program for adding a nurse practitioner to its staff to help advise residents on primary health care issues. JEERS to the fact that no bids were received to ...

Grab a book and get reading

Remember the Book It! program that kept many of us interested in reading through our formative years? It is still alive and well, turning 40 this year, and has spun off into supporting a National Young Readers’ Week each November. It is billed as “the perfect opportunity to introduce our young ones to the incredible world of books.” Surely parents and teachers are already doing that, but it never hurts to hammer home the point. Children who are encouraged to embrace reading are better learners and thinkers. They have expanded vocabularies. They have more confidence and ...

Taking racist texts seriously

“Other people have no First Amendment right to your phone and free speech doesn’t protect telephone harassment.” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost posted those words on social media after opening an inquiry into a series of hateful texts that reached Ohioans, which were part of a nationwide text effort that threatened Black men, women and children and implied a return of slavery was imminent. Students as young as middle school reported receiving the texts. According to a report by The Journal-News, some of the texts included instructions for reporting to plantations and ...

Maps must be fair in Ohio

Whether it was confusion over ballot language or truly a desire to maintain the system already in place, Ohio voters on Tuesday rejected an amendment that would have established a citizen-led commission to produce the state’s political maps. Though voters decided the Citizens Not Politicians effort was not the right way forward, it must not mean advocates give up the fight for a system that produces fair and constitutional voting maps. “In analyzing the vote tonight, it is clear that the millions of Ohioans who voted yes want to end gerrymandering,” former Ohio Chief Justice ...