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Letters to the Editor

Owner still searching for Rufus

Dear Editor, On Dec. 10, 2022 your newspaper kindly published my Letter to the Editor concerning my lost Basset hound. Rufus, age 1, went missing from Barnesville on Nov. 5. It’s now been three long, cold months, 10 days and eight hours since Rufus disappeared from the backyard of his home in Barnesville. Although immediate action was taken — a dog tracker, posters, flyers, postcards, calls to all shelters in the state, visits with the local police, knocking on doors, walking and driving every road in the area — there has not been one valid sighting. Not one. Initially people ...

Opposing HB 509

Editor’s note: Letters such as the one that follows are being sent to Ohio state lawmakers by fire departments throughout our region. Some of those departments asked that an example be published as a letter to the editor, in an effort to inform the public and garner support for their efforts. This particular letter was addressed to Ohio Rep. Don Jones, R-Freeport, who represents Ohio’s 95th House District: Dear Representative Jones: On January 5th, 2023, House Bill (HB) 509 was signed into law by the Governor. As with any bill, it is understood that there are many small pieces ...

Reader responds to LifeWise letter

Dear Editor, This is a blunt address to Mr. Bill Bryant’s recent published letter with regard to “Separation of Church and State”. I will say this: If anyone believes that the Founders of America (or of any nation’s) constitutional interpretation of freedom is a violation of the rule of laws, their argument should be heard. Mr. Bryant is a proclaimed atheist, his choice. I understand. But, my choice, and, the argument (re: an elective religious program) of “separation” falls short on Mr. Bryant’s side. There is no monetary relationship to anyone’s tax ...

Stand your ground

Dear Editor, Each of us are born into a particular epoch of history that God has chosen for us. It’s not the luck of the draw. The Bible says that there are seasons of life… a time to reap, a time to sow, a time to live and a time to die. The history of man is found in the scriptures and we, who love the Lord and understand His teachings realize we have been selected by God for this particular period of time called “the great falling away.” It is a frightening time but also a most glorious and honorable time. Think upon it in such a way as if you are going into a battle. ...

Health care reform

Dear Editor, A couple weeks ago, local papers reported a hospital would be denying in-patient care to those who have public employee insurance. This business decision was based on out of state hospitals getting paid far more than in state hospitals. Government action remedied this situation, but only after the inevitable “inequity” was invoked. Other medical institutions have received corporate and government funding recently. How can a medical institution not make it on its own? There are the outrageous mark ups. Hospital parking lots are filled. What is the average ...

No natural gas is not green energy

Dear Editor, During the recent “lame duck” session, Ohio’s predominantly Republican legislature and Governor (Mike) DeWine rushed to pass HB 507. The amended bill prohibits communities from banning pesticides within city borders and allows state lands and parks to be leased for oil and gas development. The legislation would also “create a broad new legal definition of green energy that would include natural gas.” An anonymously funded, pro-natural gas, dark money group, the Empowerment Alliance, helped Ohio lawmakers spin the narrative that natural gas is green. Labeling ...