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Guest column/Accessible, attainable housing for Ohioans essential

In the wake of last week’s 2024 Ohio Chamber Housing Summit, we continue to focus on the issue of housing for all Ohioans. Every Ohioan should have access to safe, affordable housing, and this goal can only be accomplished if we work together. In the Ohio Chamber’s Blueprint for Ohio’s Economic Future, a report that analyzes Ohio’s economic outlook and compares it to that in other states, we identified six key areas for improvement, including “Sense of Place.” This area refers to the components and resources that make a community a desirable place in which to live, work ...

My love for football I learned from my mom

When it comes to football, I must admit I have been a finicky follower. I remember how I loved the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers. I mean how could you not? My mother taught me this. She is still passionate about her all-time favorite sports team and I have learned not to interfere by asking nuisance questions while they are playing. Honestly, I think this was the best football team there has ever been or ever will be. How can you go wrong with Terry Bradshaw as your quarterback? With players such as Franco Harris, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth? Rocky Bleier, Mike Webster, Jack ...

Making a real difference

Rob Herrington paused for a moment before speaking Wednesday evening at the JeffCo Event Center. The longtime chief of Wintersville Fire and Rescue had just accepted an award on behalf of the organization, something he has done many times during his 40 years in that position. For Herrington, though, the Heart Award presented during the annual Lee Alexander West Spiritual Movement recognition ceremony was special. He told the story of how his son, Lucas, was befriended by West on the first day after transferring to Steubenville City Schools, and how West helped him become ...

It takes very little effort to show a little kindness

When you think you’re having a bad day — perhaps you woke up late, spilled your coffee, got stuck in traffic, overdrew your bank account, couldn’t find a babysitter and had to cancel weekend plans — stop for a minute. Just stop. And think about this ... Your day didn’t begin with your owner not wanting you any longer. Your life isn’t a matter of being completely alone and unloved every single day. Someone didn’t wake up and decide today was the day to throw you out of a moving vehicle, leaving you to die in the middle of the roadway with nothing but land and woods all ...

History in the Hills: Life is a garden

February is here and usually at this time of year I am longing for the cold days to end and dreaming of warmer days ahead. It’s usually about this time that my wife and I begin to think about a garden. I know we are quite a way off, but we like to plan ahead and think about all the things we want to plant this year. I always find that we plan too ambitiously and by the time our plan is done, we have accounted for every square inch of the little plot we have. If we actually went through with all our plans, our plot would resemble a jungle, not to mention it would be unlikely that ...

Guest column/Renewable energy is no threat to agriculture

Why does Ohio’s Republican party continue to vilify solar and wind energy, as evidenced by a recent opinion piece “We must abandon reckless wind and solar subsidies” by U.S. Senate candidate Frank LaRose? His op-ed is a barrage of talking points propagated by trade publications and other opinion pieces; there are no peer reviewed studies cited. The facts show that Ohio farmers do face obstacles, but not from renewable energy. Farmers in the Midwest are experiencing the effects of climate change — “increased average temperatures, changes in rainfall that can lead to ...