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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 ...

Holiday spirit in Follansbee

Follansbee’s Christmas in the Park event always has stood for a couple of things. The festival, which was started in 2003, has offered a reminder that the Christmas season is a little more than two months away. It also has helped to raise money for local children with special medical needs and the Follansbee R.E.A.C.H. Program food pantry. Those who attend the festival, set to run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, will know that proceeds will go in the traditional directions. But they also will be able to support others in another way — money ...

Ohio answers call for help

Across the south, the effects of Hurricanes Helene and Milton have been devastating and deadly. Help is desperately needed, and Gov. Mike DeWine has made sure that Ohio is answering the call. Last week, airmen and soldiers were sent to North Carolina to assist with the recovery from unfathomable flooding and mudslides. This week, the Ohio National Guard has been activated after a request for assistance from Ohio by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. “As Florida recovers from one hurricane and braces for another, Ohio is answering the ...

Smoke alarms can make a difference

This week serves as an annual reminder of the dangers of fires in our homes, and what we can each do to help prevent them from happening. While Fire Prevention Week often has activities aimed at our youth, with visits from firefighters to local schools providing educational materials and activities, it is a time we all should keep in mind, no matter our age, as those lessons have the potential to save lives. This year’s theme is “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you!” According to the National Fire Protection Association, working smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a ...

Wholesale purges of voters troubling

With the Nov. 5 general election less than a month away and early voting now under way, third-party groups appear to be trying to bog down county boards of elections with requests to systematically remove thousands from voter rolls. In Ohio, the state chapters of Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, represented by the ACLU and the Brennan Center for Justice, are alerting Secretary of State Frank LaRose to what the groups say are the illegal systematic removal of voters from the rolls in Delaware, Muskingum, probably Logan and possibly Cuyahoga counties. The groups cite public ...