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Halloween numbers

If you haven’t had the chance to read it yet, make sure you look at the cover story of this week’s Valley Life section. In it, Community Editor Julie Stenger offers a look at how some area residents have gone all in on decorating for Halloween. It’s a phenomenon that has been picking up steam during the last several years, with more and more elaborate displays being found in a growing number of neighborhoods. But that should not be surprising. Americans will spend a projected $12.2 billion this Halloween, according to WalletHub. And, with the Washington, D.C.-based ...

Guest column/Social media could change the mind of your children

In 2019, the World Health Organization published strict guidelines about children’s screen time. Why? Because intensive digital media use is thought to reduce working memory capacity, cause psychological problems from depression to anxiety and sleep disorders and affect comprehension when reading screens. “Reading complex stories or interconnected facts in a printed book leads to better recall of the story, of details, and of the connections between facts than reading the same text onscreen,” the report says. Last week, an article was published, “I’m a Neurosurgeon. ...

Collaboration works

Of the many things that have changed since the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce was first formed, one that has not is the spirit of collaboration the organization encourages. That was very apparent when the chamber held its 115th-annual meeting and awards dinner Wednesday night. John Brown, for example, the keynote speaker, said that being able to assemble a group of people who were willing to work toward a common goal made it possible for him to help move the region forward while he served as executive director of the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission. ...

Guest column/How do you rate the mental health of your children?

Recently, I saw a video discussion by a California politician who said she was a certified teacher and a mother. She does not feel that she is qualified — even as a certified teacher — to deal with the mental health of children. She was teaching her two teenagers to be independent and hoped that if they were struggling they would go to a professional for help. Maybe she didn’t mean it the way I interpreted it. But she was supporting legislation that would give agency to youth to make major life-changing decisions without parental involvement. My first thought: You are ...

Guest column/Self-serving lawsuits risk harming Ohio students

When are we going to start putting the needs of Ohio’s students first and stop playing games with their futures? Two recent lawsuits, funded in part by partisan, out-of-state interest groups, are attempting to block important changes in Ohio designed to support students’ academic recovery and ensure strong and committed governance of Ohio’s education system. Focused on the self-serving needs of adults rather than the educational needs of young Ohioans, these suits set up our students for failure at the very time when their success is more precarious than ever. We all know the ...

Still time left to write

If you are considering writing a letter to the editor regarding an issue or candidate that will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot, keep in mind that you are running short on time. The deadline for submissions related to the coming election is noon on Oct. 26, with those letters appearing Oct. 27 and Oct. 29, depending on the volumes. Once that deadline passes, letters dealing with this year’s vote will no longer be accepted. Which brings about a question that comes up frequently as we get closer to Election Day: Why do we not accept submissions to run the weekend before the election? ...