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Guest column/Confronting Ohio’s childcare dilemmas to ensure prosperity

There has never been a better time in history to be an Ohioan. We have an abundance of resources and variables working in our favor, including a low cost of living and a high quality of life. Our Gross Domestic Product is the seventh largest in the United States, and if Ohio were a separate country, it would be the 21st largest economy. We are now entering a manufacturing renaissance unlike anything witnessed by any other state, and with the kind of economic wins we’ve seen just in the last two years, the best is yet to come. While there is much to be proud of in Ohio, the state and ...

Reasons for optimism

Thoughts offered by Mike Petrella can serve as a reminder about the importance your outlook can have. “Positivity spreads, prosperity spreads,” the local businessman and mayor of Wintersville said. “Be positive and positive things will follow.” Petrella’s remarks came during Tuesday’s State of Jefferson County Address, and they helped to sum up the tone of the forum held in the Steubenville High School auditorium. The session offered the chance to talk about the many positive things happening across the region. For reasons that are not always easy to understand, ...

Calendar needs a little updating, in my opinion

On those rare winter days when the temperature somehow finds a way to reach the upper ‘50s or low ‘60s, I say a small, quiet prayer that it will remain permanent until summer. Like so many others, I am so ready for this season to be over. Actually, I was ready for winter to be done with in October — even though it was technically still autumn. At least according to the calendar. I am fairly certain that whoever was the creator of today’s calendar, well … they pretty-much got it all wrong. So, I did an Internet search to discover who this creator of the calendar was ...

Get registered and vote

If you’re an Ohio resident and are planning to vote in this year’s primary election and you are not registered, you are running short on time. Tuesday is the deadline to have the needed paperwork in order if you want to be able to cast a ballot on March 19. Officials with the election boards in Jefferson and Harrison counties report they will be open until 9 p.m. that day to help you complete that task. This is a presidential election year, which means there’s a little more attention being placed on the upcoming primary votes. And while Republican voters will see five names on ...

Honoring the greatest thing I have ever done

I have certainly never done anything remarkable with the life I have been given ... A film is not going to be created about me. A song will never be written. You will not find me among those who will forever be embedded on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Nor will a statue ever be erected in my honor. City streets will not be named after me. Future generations will not call their baby girls “Julie.” As a matter of fact, in just a few short decades, there will be no one left here to even remember my name. My mind regrets not having achieved far more. I hate regrets. The ...

History in the Hills: The river to freedom

I have a great view from my office in the Hancock County Courthouse. Looking out my windows I can see the town of New Cumberland, the many mountains surrounding the valley and the mighty Ohio River. I have written a lot about the river in the past, from the early Native Americans who have lived here for thousands of years, to early settlers and industries that took advantage of the waterway for commerce. There is just so much history tied up in that waterway. For most of the history of human habitation here, the river has served three main purposes: As a source of food and water, as a ...