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Ohio Valley residents showing they care

We saw some of the best of the Ohio Valley this past week. On Wednesday, the community room of the Salvation Army church on Eoff Street was covered in huge white bags, each one packed with toys, clothes and other items that hundreds of people bought for hundreds of children around the Northern Panhandle as part of the Salvation Army Angel Tree program. Those bags were distributed in Ohio County on Wednesday, Marshall County on Thursday and Wetzel and Tyler counties on Friday. On that same Wednesday, the Wheeling Police Department and United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley were at WVU ...

Helping our mothers

Officials have known for years there are maternal healthcare challenges in Ohio, but it always comes as a shock to see the numbers. This month, the state Department of Health announced it is hosting trainings for some new programs meant to help prevent the deaths of mothers due to pregnancy-related complications. Such programs are necessary because in the Buckeye State an average of 24 mothers die every year during pregnancy or within one year of the end of their pregnancy, because of pregnancy-related complications. The Department of Health says 62% of these deaths are considered ...

Manufacturing still matters

Data centers are getting a lot of attention in Ohio, but one organization reminds us the backbone of the Buckeye State economy is still an industry with a more human touch. The Ohio Manufacturing Association released its 2025 Ohio Manufacturing Counts report Thursday, in which the analysis shows manufacturing is the largest private sector contributor to the state’s economy. The sector is responsible for 16.5% of Ohio’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as of 2024, leading among Ohio’s 19 private economic sectors. The manufacturing provides payroll totaling $49.9 billion, the highest ...

Ed Marling’s Service Lifted Communities

In an era where public service too often feels transactional and overshadowed by political noise, the retirement of Bellaire Mayor Ed Marling serves as a reminder of what steady, local leadership can mean to communities. For 24 years, Marling has been a presence in eastern Ohio civic life — not for headlines or ambition, but because he believed the people of Shadyside and Bellaire deserved a leader that showed up, put in the work, and never asked others to do what he wasn’t willing to do himself. Marling’s long tenure in public service began nearly four decades ago, when he ...

Preserving Ohio’s Nature

Work to preserve our region’s incredible natural treasures and the environment that sustains us all is most effective at the local level. Through the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, that work gets done with the help of grant funding for “locally led conservation and environmental stewardship efforts that advance the greater well-being of the region.” This year, with the help of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, the group awarded more than $120,000. Community grants included Base Camp Alpha in Jackson County, Caldwell Exempted Village School District in Noble County, ...

Good news for wildlife

For a state that at one time was known for rivers that caught fire, Ohio has made tremendous strides in cleaning up its waterways. More good news came last week from the state Department of Natural Resources, which is seeing success in its effort to reintroduce state-endangered lake sturgeon. The project has expanded to include the Cuyahoga, Sandusky and Scioto rivers, in addition to the Maumee River. Among the reasons for the sturgeon’s sharp decline here were dams blocking access to spawning sites and unregulated fishing. At one time, the Buckeye State had lost all known spawning ...