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Be involved — cast your ballot

Editorials

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

Editorials

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 ...

Guest column/Electricity prices are soaring — coal is a key solution

Local Columns

Electricity bills are climbing almost everywhere, and the reasons have little to do with ideology. Three forces are driving prices higher: Massive new utility spending on infrastructure, rising natural gas costs and growing capacity shortages in electricity markets as power demand soars from the AI revolution. In some states, prices have jumped more than 60 percent since 2022. The Trump administration inherited this mess and now has its work cut out for it. The strategy the administration has embraced is built around reinforcing dispatchable power — the generating resources that ...

Guest column/The United States of excuses and the offended

Local Columns

Peggy and I were blessed to be raised by parents of the Greatest Generation. They were a no-nonsense and hard-working generation where excuses did not exist. When it came to disciplining us, they believed in tough love. They taught us to respect the rights of our fellow man, and they truly lived by the slogan: “Love God, family and country.” Mom and Dad also taught us to enjoy life and not to take ourselves too seriously. If we made a stupid mistake and others laughed, they said laugh with them instead of being offended. Life’s too short to lack a sense of humor. Well, ...

Guest column/Firefighter recruitment portal offers opportunities

Local Columns

As Ohio’s 39th state fire marshal, I’ve dedicated my career to protecting the safety and well-being of our communities. Today, I’m calling attention to an urgent matter facing our state — one that threatens the foundation of emergency preparedness in Ohio upon which we have come to rely. Across the nation, including right here in Ohio, we’re experiencing an alarming decline in the number of volunteer firefighters. Many people don’t realize that about 70 percent of Ohio’s nearly 1,200 fire departments rely on volunteers. That’s right, the majority of firefighters in ...

Celebrating successes

Local Columns

Peg Zende admits that she and Mike Ruthem were a little skeptical when they learned about the plans Aaron Dodds, project manager for the Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District, had for some adjacent property in Wayne Township. “When Aaron started this project and told us about his dream, we were naysayers,” Zende said. “We weren’t accepting of it, and we were concerned. We wondered what this was going to do to this slice of heaven that we had.” That dream has become the Hellbender Preserve in Wayne Township, which offers a chance to enjoy the natural beauty of ...