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Merry Christmas and Happy Presidents Day

Merry Christmas! No, I haven’t lost my mind. (Completely.) I know that the calendar tells me it’s Feb. 14 ... Valentine’s Day. And if, by chance, you happen to be reading this column, it will already be Feb. 15, even though the newspaper indicates at the top of the page that it is Feb. 16. Are you still with me? OK. Good. Anyway, the reason I am wishing you a Merry Christmas is because my youngest son, Noah, will be coming home from Poland this week. As I have mentioned a time or two before … actually, more like three or four times before ... that upon his ...

History in the Hills: Washington’s visit

It’s good to be back at Historic Fort Steuben. I love spending time with our local history and helping to make it accessible to the public through our programs and events. I am constantly reminded, however, that the longer I interact with local history, there is so much more out there I don’t know. There are stories and history in every building, under every rock and around every corner. And very much buried in the ground. I remember fondly when we added more lights to the Berkman Amphitheater at Fort Steuben Park, long trenches needed to be dug in the ground. When I was tired of ...

Our area loves football

How many times have you looked at a survey and thought to yourself that its findings are just so obvious that you wonder why anyone would have spent the time gathering and then analyzing all of that data? We saw another pretty good example of that earlier in the week when WalletHub released it annual look at the Best and Worst Cities for Football Fans. And, to the surprise of very few people, Pittsburgh again has topped the overall list. Our region also finished first in the pro football rankings and 12th in the college football rankings. A big part of the reason for that ...

Guest column/The Ohio Valley has a radiation problem

During the 1950s and 1960s, I remember the government-conducted Civil Defense drills in my school. We were told to climb under our school desks, duck down and cover our heads. We might have survived a bomb blast but the radioactive fallout could not be stopped. The nuclear disasters at Three-Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima have taught us that the radiation emitted during an accident or bombing will travel across the planet via the jet stream and distribute some radiation to all of us. Unfortunately, a similar scenario has been occurring in Southeastern Ohio. Since 2012, (when ...

Guest column/New tax could put quality insurance at risk for many Ohioans

Ohio’s dismal 44th place in national health value demonstrates a harsh reality: We face higher medical expenses and poorer health outcomes than most other Americans. And things will get even worse if Congress adopts a new federal law to tax employer-sponsored health plans as if they are wages. The scheme would reduce paychecks and increase costs for Ohio’s workers and their families. The Washington, D.C., politicians and special interests advocating for this tax are engaging in a deceptive dance. They claim it only targets expensive health plans, but their policies fail to keep ...

Technology … where would we be without it?

Technology. Where would we be without it? Technology. Where would we be without it? No, I didn’t accidentally write that sentence twice. It’s written to mean two different points of view. Go back and read it again. I’ll wait. Can you see the difference? On one hand, technology has drastically changed the way we do practically everything. The world is pretty much at our fingertips. Life has become so much easier — perhaps too easy. We no longer have to try to read a map or stop and ask directions at a gas station, even though some of us may insist we never get lost. ...