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Don’t overlook June 11 election

It’s an easy one to miss, given all the attention to the upcoming November general election, but for Eastern Ohio residents, there is an important election for which early voting is underway. Tuesday is the vote to fill the Sixth Congressional District vacancy left by Bill Johnson’s resignation. For residents of Washington, Noble, Monroe, Belmont, Harrison, Jefferson, Carroll, Tuscarawas, Stark and Columbiana counties, this is the general election between the two candidates chosen in the March 19 primary — state Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, and Michael Kripchak, a Democrat from ...

Partners in education

It takes partners from all sectors to provide our children with educations that go beyond the reading, writing and arithmetic we expect. The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio and the Longaberger Family Foundation are providing more than $35,000 in funding awards for counties across our region to do just that. “We have long shared FAO’s commitment to the children of Appalachia and to ensuring the well-being of our communities,” said Matt Kaido, Longaberger Family Foundation representative. “With this funding, we are not only equipping the youth of Appalachian Ohio with educational ...

Make the most of tax holiday

With this school year just ended, it seems a little early to be thinking about the end of summer and the start of the 2024-25 academic year. But for families who plan summer spending as carefully as possible in anticipation of next year’s expenses, Gov. Mike DeWine had some important news last week . The 2024 Sales Tax Holiday has been expanded. No longer just a weekend, the event will run from midnight Tuesday, July 30 through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8. That’s a week and a half for families to take advantage of tax-free purchases — made in-person or online — of eligible ...

Protecting Ohio’s children

Within the Ohio Attorney General’s Office is the Ohio Missing Children Clearinghouse. In its most recent report, we learned 2023 saw an increase in the number of Buckeye State children who went missing. In fact, more people of all ages went missing last year — 22,374 total (an increase of 1,757 over the previous year). Of that number, 17,405 were children (an increase of 1,850 over the previous year). Those are alarming figures, though not as high as what the state saw in 2015-2019. Perhaps a more important figure on which to focus is that authorities say 98% of missing children ...

Phones and education

With the passage of Ohio House Bill 250, lawmakers sent a strong message about the importance of protecting students from the harm done by constant access to cellphones during the school day. Now, as each school district is required to come up with a policy of its own, the state has unveiled its model policy for minimizing cell phone use in schools. “By removing the distraction of cell phones from classrooms, our school children will be free to flourish and will see improved academic engagement and social interaction,” Gov. Mike DeWine said, according to a report by WTVG. ...

Time to help save lives

As the American Red Cross continues to get creative in enticing donors to give blood, its newest promotion may be the perfect fit for those willing to roll up their sleeves between now and June 9. Lovers of the video game Tetris may be willing to attend a blood drive over the next couple of weeks to receive not only a special Tetris + Red Cross T-shirt, but to get a chance at a trip for two to New York to meet Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov. “As summer gets closer, the American Red Cross asks donors to come in to give blood now to help keep the blood supply as stable as possible. ...