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I want you to know that it really does get better

If you are anything like me, you are sitting there this morning with your usual cup of coffee. The house is quiet. And the Sunday newspaper is spread out before you on the bed or kitchen table. There is a specific kind of comfort in these pages. It is a sense of connection, a way to get in touch with the community that you just cannot seem to find anywhere else. I realize, of course, that I am likely talking to a specific group of people. We are the ones who still value the feel of the newsprint. Although I know many of you are reading this on a computer screen, smartphone ...

Another election cycle has started

It seems like we barely get through one election cycle before the next one begins. That’s the position we find ourselves in once again as we head into the third full week of the new year. While mid-term elections don’t usually carry the same weight as a presidential, there will be a lot on the line as voters head to the polls for primary elections on May 5 in Ohio and May 12 in West Virginia and again on Nov. 3 when the general election is held. For starters, Ohioans will be selecting a new governor — whomever is elected in November will replace Republican Mike DeWine, who ...

Guest column/I pray you are relishing your reunion

News of Marian Houser's death set me on an immediate search through tubs of newspaper photos, clippings and memorabilia I had promised myself I would organize and properly scrapbook for posterity when I retired from the Herald-Star as community editor almost three years ago now. The urgency to reflect and reminisce about my newsroom mother dictated my direction for the rest of that day – Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, the day "mommy-mommy" made her transition from earthly existence to heavenly glory. Make no mistake, Marian was on my mind along with the realization that I was now ...

Guest column/We’re just a little diminished

I have waited a few days to write this, trying to get my thoughts in order because I know Marian Houser will be editing it somewhere. The world, the Steubenville area, lost a true pioneer, leader, mom, friend and boss last week. And as she often said of the deaths of those whom she knew and loved, it diminishes you. I am diminished. Marian was the city editor of the Herald-Star when I was hired as a know-it-all radio newsman who wanted to be a newspaperman at the ripe old age of 22 back in January of 1985. I still remember the first time I saw her, sitting at her desk at the head ...

Guest column/Maintaining momentum in fight against addiction

As we begin 2026, I am filled with optimism for the progress Ohio is making in the fight against addiction. Across our state, communities are working together to save lives, support families, and restore hope. This year, we have both the responsibility and the opportunity to build on that momentum. This past year marked a turning point for the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, the nonprofit organization created by our state’s leaders to manage and invest 55 percent of the funds received from the national opioid settlements. Through its first cycle of regional grants, the Foundation ...

A knock on my door that takes me back …

Those small pair of tennis shoes sitting by the front door can change the entire temperature of my house. Not literally, of course. The thermostat remains exactly where it always is. But the temperature shifts in that quiet, unseen way — a kind of happiness that has a way of sneaking in and warming corners of your home and your heart that you never even realized had grown cold. Yes, that is what happens every time my 3-year-old grandson, Layne, comes to spend time at my house. It is especially true on those rare nights he gets to spend the entire night. It is as if the ...