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Making a difference

For John Mascio, there’s a simple path to follow to see results in his job. “I think to be successful on the lower court levels, you have to have compassion for people,” Mascio explained while speaking at the Dec. 6 meeting of the Steubenville Rotary Club. Mascio, who has been on the bench as judge in the Steubenville Municipal Court since 2015, discussed with club members gathered at the JeffCo Event Center how his court is making a difference in the community. He talked about the operations of the court in general, and covered the mental health court in particular. “I ...

Guest column/Look around … there’s hope to be found in the season

There are good memories and bad ones near the holidays. Everyone doesn’t welcome the holiday time of year. But maybe it is a good time to evaluate self, to recognize who we are and why we are, and find hope. My mother was an optimist: “Let a smile be your umbrella.” “Every dark cloud has a silver lining.” “Count your blessings instead of your troubles.” “Someday, you will …” Yes, she was an encourager. She inspired hope. One long-ago Christmas the economy was bad. How would we provide Christmas for family? I bought four strings of multi-colored mini-lights and ...

Special song captures true spirit of Christmas

Every Sunday, I post on the following page the sermon titles for various churches within the Ohio Valley. There are many. And still, dozens more exist. Needless to say, there are a lot of places where one can go to worship on Sunday mornings. I would like to request to anyone who may be reading this, that you please take my following request to the music director or pastor at your church, as I would be most grateful. It is my hope someone within the church will take into consideration including my all-time favorite song among their selections of Christmas hymns which are going ...

Don’t miss the chance to make Christmas memories

With the holidays approaching, my attention turns to remembering Christmases past — those years when I still had my dad and my grandparents. When my children were small and the wonder of Christmas morning simply made life completely worth living. While Christmas is the day to celebrate and reflect upon the greatest miracle God ever presented us with — his son, Jesus, I have always found myself partial to Christmas Eve — my favorite day of the year. Perhaps it is the anticipation of Christmas morning or the array of foods everyone would take part in sharing at my mother’s ...

Interesting numbers

A glance at the calendar reminds us that Christmas is a little more than two weeks away. That makes it a good time to look at some numbers many of us will be thinking about. ≤ It’s natural when you live in our part of the country to think about the possibility of having a white Christmas. But while nearly everyone has a memory of snow falling on Christmas Day, the reality is it probably won’t happen. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, historical probability shows there is a 31 percent chance of there being an inch of snow on the ground at the ...

History in the Hills: Riding the rails of history

If you were to ask me what my favorite job was during my career, I would have a hard time giving an answer. Worst job? That’s easy, but best job, that’s tough. Certainly one of my most favorite jobs was working for the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. My wife and I both worked there and it was a time in our life when we had no children and no real responsibilities, so it was a time to be young and fun. My wife worked in the USS Requin, a cold war era submarine that was on its way to the pacific when World War II ended. She gave tours, greeted visitors and worked in ...