Breaking News

Editorials

Measles vaccine still important

As political chatter raises questions about vaccines and legal requirements for them, some news close to home should remind us of their importance. According to the Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department, a measles outbreak was confirmed in the county on Aug. 29. It hit three children from the same family — all unvaccinated. And while those children are reportedly improving at home, the health department’s task now is to work with the family “to identify and follow-up with any exposure and contacts and help where needed.” The Ohio news made its way into a report by ...

Tressel program sets right tone

Ohio is getting ahead of the game in terms of student fitness with a new plan from the lieutenant governor. The Team Tressel Fitness Challenge for students in grades 4-8 is a program developed by Jim Tressel — who has some experience in keeping students fit and healthy. “If we can add just a little better fitness and health, it will make us that much better,” Tressel said Aug. 25. His idea is a solid one. Rather than outdated and intimidating goals that might throw a young person off track, the Team Tressel Fitness Challenge would let students pick their own activities and ...

Career funding good first start

It turns out state officials are, indeed, working toward bringing more supports to public school students who are already thinking about life after high school graduation. Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce in August announced $7.1 million for the Career Pathway Support Networks Request for Applications. The money is part of a two-year effort to prepare students for in-demand careers through “advising, mentoring, exposure to various professions, and expanded career-technical education,” according to DeWine’s office. Funding will be distributed ...

Library cards can open new worlds

There are many important activities recognized during September. One, of course, is the Labor Day holiday, which we just celebrated. Another occurs a little more than a week from now, on Patriot Day, when we remember the lives lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. September also is Library Card Sign-Up Month, and local libraries are encouraging area residents who don’t already have the credential to register for one. According to the American Library Association, 66 percent of Americans have a library card. The simple item can open up a world of possibilities, from ...

Labor Day offers chance to reflect

Labor Day is traditionally the end of the summer vacation season. Children are back in school for the long haul now. Football has resumed. The daylight hours are noticeably shorter. Thus, most take the day as a good day off for one last picnic, one last swim, one last day out in the backyard with the family while summer’s warmth is still in the air. But it is more. Labor leader Samuel Gompers sums up what will be celebrated Monday: “All other holidays are in a more-or-less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man’s prowess over man, of strife and discord for ...

Toronto shines with annual arts festival

When the Toronto Art Festival opens its two-day run at 10 a.m. Saturday, it will mark the renewal of a Labor Day Weekend tradition that stretches back to the late 1970s. It once again will offer residents from throughout the Tri-State Area the chance to enjoy a variety of music, arts and crafts, food and fun. Presented by Focus in Toronto, the 47th-annual festival, which will run until 6 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, will be centered around the Gazebo Commons area of North Third and Main streets in the heart of the city and include the areas around the First ...