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Let’s make a decision

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: In October 2022, former Diocese of Steubenville Bishop Jeffrey Monforton informed his diocesan staff and clergy that a potential merger with the Diocese of Columbus was necessary and would be presented at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for their vote that November. The vote never took place and was removed from the meeting agenda due to push back from the clergy and laity. Last Feb. 7, more than two years later, Apostolic Administrator Bishop Edward Lohse issued the Report of the State of the Diocese of Steubenville in The Steubenville Register. ...

Sometimes letting go makes us stronger

Local Columns

There’s a specific kind of silence that settles over a house once your children have grown and moved on. It is a sound I am still trying to get used to. It is not the peaceful silence of a nap time, nor is it the soft, late-night quiet of a household that is finally at rest. No. This is a far heavier silence than any I have ever known. This is an echoing stillness that makes you realize just how much of your identity was wrapped up in the beautiful, chaotic noise of being needed. Once in a while, that stillness becomes so great that it seems as if it stretches clear down the ...

Guest column/Nobel-winning economists share a timely lesson

Local Columns

We live in arguably the most innovative and prosperous era in human history. My lifetime alone has seen numerous technological leaps that past generations could never have dreamed of, including the moon landing, the birth of the internet, and now the rise of artificial intelligence. But this pace of transformation is historically the exception, not the rule — and it may not continue much longer if the infringer lobby gets its way. That’s the lesson to be drawn from last year’s Nobel Prize in economics, which was awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt for ...

Guest column/Delivering results for the residents of our region

Local Columns

Fighting for you in Columbus is a great honor. And together, we’ve already delivered victories that put Ohio families — not special interests or Columbus insiders — first. Last General Assembly, we passed two major laws to protect women and children. The Save Women’s Sports Act guarantees fairness by preventing biological males from competing in girls’ sports. Our daughters train hard, compete fiercely, and deserve a level playing field. Now, they have it. We also passed the SAFE Act — ending sex-change surgeries for minors. Children should never be pressured into ...

Need for blood remains critical

Editorials

If your New Year’s resolutions included finding small ways to do good more frequently, the American Red Cross has some ideas for you. You — yes, you — are needed, right now. A glance at the organization’s website reveals an alert that there is an “emergency need for type O blood” because winter weather has caused a decline in donations. There’s even a pitch that if you give blood before Jan. 31, you can earn points to be used toward rewards. Local opportunities to give blood include from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at the Jefferson County JVS in Bloomingdale; from 11 ...

Xylazine offers latest dangers

Editorials

It is breathtaking to watch the manner in which the substance abuse epidemic in our region continues to evolve. Just last month, officials in Gallia County in Southeastern Ohio, warned a growing danger has reared its head — Xylazine. The powerful veterinary sedative, which is, of course, not intended for human use at all, has been found in the region; sometimes mixed with fentanyl and other opioids. This is a drug meant for large animals such as horses. There is no safe dosage of “tranq” for humans. In fact, overdosing is all too easy. The Gallia County Health Department says ...