Breaking News

Editorials

New chapter opens for Hancock shelter

A new chapter has been opened at the Hancock County Animal Shelter. Following a contract signing Friday morning, operations at the shelter, located near New Manchester, will be overseen by the nonprofit Jefferson County Humane Society, which oversees the Jefferson County Animal Shelter in Wintersville. There will be some changes as part of the transition. Humane society managers will be working with existing animal shelter staff to review the operations at the facility and finding out what works and what improvements can be made, sharing ideas and making upgrades to the shelter ...

Be involved — cast your ballot

This year’s general election might not be generating all of the attention and big spending that the one we had last year did, but that doesn’t mean it is any less important. Voters have, in elections such as this one, the opportunity to have a real say on the level that impacts their lives the most: In municipal and township government, on school boards and with tax levies. When they cast their ballots in Tuesday’s election, residents of Steubenville, for instance, have contested races for mayor and in the Second and Fourth wards. There are contested council races in Toronto, ...

General Motors layoffs complex

The Detroit News reported Wednesday that General Motors has laid off thousands of workers from manufacturing facilities in Ohio and Michigan. Though it is tempting to suggest the reason is purely a matter of GM’s overeagerness to catch up to the electric vehicle push, the reality is a bit more complicated. At the company’s Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Warren, there are expected to be approximately 550 cuts and 850 temporary layoffs, according to a report by CNBC. There also will be approximately 700 layoffs at the Ultium Cells plant in Tennessee. Those gleefully ...

Time to fall back, check detectors

There was a time not too long ago when the first Saturday in November meant everyone needed to travel through their houses changing the time on clocks, watches and microwave ovens, and then head out to their cars to make similar adjustments. While that chore has largely been eliminated, thanks to smart phones and watches that always show the exact time no matter where you are, other clocks that automatically adjust and even appliances that are connected to the internet and never fail to show the proper time, the return of Eastern Standard Time at 2 a.m. Sunday represents a good ...

Playoff football remains special

If it seems that the high school football games in Ohio carry a little more intensity this week, you’re right. That’s because it’s the beginning of the playoffs, a six-week, single-elimination tournament that players and fans hope will take their teams to Canton, where this year’s championship games will be played Dec. 4-6. The action follows a simple formula: Win and you play the next week, lose and you can put the equipment away until August. Catholic Central, Indian Creek, Toronto and Edison will open their post-season runs at 7 p.m. Friday. Steubenville Big Red, which ...

Center important to West Liberty

West Liberty University has put itself in exclusive company with its latest addition. The university last week cut the ribbon on its new Appalachian Aquatic Conservation Center. That center is now just one of four at universities across the United States. You’d have to travel to Blacksburg, Va., and Virginia Tech to find the next closest. With the new facility, West Liberty University hopes to be the nation’s top university in the conservation of crayfish and spotted turtles. According to Zachary Loughman, chairman of organismal biology, ecology and zoo science departments at WLU, ...