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SVRTA levy earns support from voters

Residents of several communities are being asked to continue supporting the Steel Valley Regional Transit Authority when they cast their ballots in the Nov. 5 election. The agency is looking for the renewal of a 1.5-mill levy with an increase of 0.5 mills for a period of 10 years, meaning the final rate to taxpayer will be 2 mills. That money will ensure the authority will be able to continue to provide transportation service to local residents. It’s important that voters say “yes” to the issue. SVRTA provides about 176,000 rides to area residents each year, a number, ...

Ohioans hope for a rosy future, as politicians hand us promise after promise to distract from reality. We know there is potential, but numbers can present a different picture, and the Ohio Department of Development’s Office of Research took a look at population projections from 2020 to 2050 to show us what the trends really suggest. Based on today’s rates of fertility, mortality and migration, by 2050 Ohio will lose 675,000 people — 5.7 percent of the population. Population in the United States, meanwhile, is expected to grow by 17.3 percent. Population stability and growth ...

SNAP adjustment a good decision

Officials with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services have made an important change that should help the program do a better job helping those who are part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. On Oct. 1, ODJFS Director Matt Damschroder announced a sliding scale to allow recipients to move off the program gradually. That way, recipients will feel less as though they need to turn down promotions or new job opportunities to keep food on the table. “Fear of losing food benefits can be a deterrent to taking a new job, working more hours or even accepting a ...

W.Va. makes right choice on Williams

During the recent special session of the West Virginia Legislature, lawmakers carved out time to honor someone important not only to the state, but to the country. They passed a resolution to place a statue of the late Hershel “Woody” Williams inside the U.S. Capitol. Williams, who died in 2022, was the last surviving Congressional Medal of Honor recipient from World War II. Born in Quiet Dell, W.Va., Williams was a Marine Corps veteran who was in combat in the Pacific. He received the Medal of Honor in 1945, after serving in the Battle of Iwo Jima with the 21st Marines, 3rd Marine ...

We’re facing a Xylazine crisis

Just as Ohio is beginning to see signs the tide is weakening (though not quite turning) in the substance abuse epidemic, a new danger rears its head. Xylazine-related overdose deaths are on the rise. Xylazine is an animal tranquilizer — not for use by humans — that is becoming popular. Speaking to WTOL-TV in Toledo about his observations in other cities, Matt Bell, the chief executive officer and founder of Team Recovery, said the drug is frightening. “These folks in Philadelphia, their drug of choice is Xylazine,” Bell said. “And in fact, if they know that someone ...

Fight on breast cancer continues

Pink is a prevalent color around our communities this time of year — it serves as a reminder that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer in her lifetime, according to medical experts, and the most significant risk factors for breast cancer are gender — being a woman — and growing older. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in women, behind only lung cancer. Breast cancer remains a killer of women, but, as always, early detection and treatment remain the ...