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Guest column/Made in America needs to be mined in America

Mineral supply chains are reshaping how we think about energy security. Supplies of lithium, graphite, copper and rare earths—among many other essential metals—are already dictating the speed of energy technology deployment and creating new global centers of industrial strength. Conversely, the race to secure access to these minerals has exposed glaring supply chain vulnerabilities — none more acute than those here in the United States. As the world begins the pivot toward fully electrified economies, U.S. oil production has reached an all-time high. But our production of many ...

Football season nears

It doesn’t seem possible, does it, that it has been more than six months since the Pittsburgh Steelers played their last game of the 2023-24 National Football League season. A lot has changed since that Monday afternoon of Jan. 15, when the Steelers were eliminated from the playoffs with a 31-17 loss in Buffalo. For starters, the team will be looking for a new quarterback. Kenny Pickett, who was considered to be the natural successor to Ben Roethlisberger after being drafted in the first round of the 2022 draft, is no longer on the roster. The choice seemed to make a lot of sense ...

History in the Hills: A ride down memory lane

My trips on County Road in Hancock County recently have been difficult. I think most folks who have to drive toward New Cumberland in the past few weeks have encountered the folks cutting trees along Route 2. Although it’s important to do, the delays have been inconvenient. I am amazed, though, how the tree cutters can use their equipment to cut such high trees with such precision. Waiting in the traffic along the road has given me time to think about the history of that particular stretch of pavement. I consider that stretch from the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and County Road ...

Expansion at Trinity

It was just a little more than five years ago when Matt Grimshaw stood outside of Trinity Medical Center West and took part in the ceremonial groundbreaking for an expansion project at the hospital. “It really is a leap of faith,” Grimshaw, Trinity’s president and CEO said on that March day in 2019. “But we believe we are uniquely positioned to make it happen ... It has the potential to transform the health care landscape, not only for today, but for generations to come.” Plans at the time called for the five-story, 183,000-plus-square-foot addition to be finished in two ...

Guest column/Questions about searching for oil and gas rights

In the oil and gas rich regions of Ohio, it is often the case that prior owners of properties long ago separated the oil and gas rights from the surface rights in the property. They sold the surface rights but kept or “reserved” for themselves all or a part of the oil and gas interests. For the better part of the 20th century, there was little oil and gas development in Ohio. Prior owners and their heirs held reserved interests for decades without any production taking place. And then came the natural gas boom of recent years. To facilitate this development, the Ohio ...

There is nothing good on television anymore

This week, I am looking for some suggestions. I can not stand the humidity and therefore try not to go outside whenever it is 85 degrees or higher. And that has pretty much been our entire summer, thus far, unfortunately. I actually used to enjoy this type of weather. Now that I am much older, I absolutely abhor it. So, perhaps my favorite thing to do when I am stuck indoors is to simply sit in an air-conditioned room and watch television. Preferably with cake. There aren’t too many hours in which I am able to do this, however, as I am either at work, cleaning the house or ...