Breaking News

Opinion

Guest column/Shortage of rural vets endanger nation’s food supply

Local Columns

America is faciang a food system shortage. Livestock veterinarians are the new endangered species. Farmers are losing access to the experts they need to keep our food supply safe. More than 500 U.S. counties across 46 states are federally designated veterinary shortage areas. Just 1.3 percent of registered veterinarians specialize in food animal practice. This frontline workforce is fraying at a time when U.S. farms produce more than 94 percent of all red meat and poultry Americans consume. Addressing this growing concern will require sustained industry investment in education that ...

Some interesting thoughts

Local Columns

Catching up: • Their missions, the goods and services they provide and the way they look to the future might vary widely, but businesses and organizations that have served the region for decades all share at least one thing in common: They are committed to putting a quality effort into everything they do. A reminder came on Nov. 15, when Valley Hospice held its recognition and dueling pianos fundraising event at the St. Florian Event Center in Wintersville. “Forty years ago, Valley Hospice began with one promise: We do the right thing, for every patient, every family and ...

I remember a time, not so long ago ...

Local Columns

I remember a time, not so long ago , when the church pews didn’t just hold people — they overflowed with them. It was a specific kind of closeness unique to Christmas Eve. Families were pressed shoulder-to-shoulder with coats piled high. Voices rose in unison to the holiday favorites we all knew by heart. I remember a time, not so long ago … The way the candlelight flickered across the faces throughout the congregation. The profound hush that fell across the church just before the first notes of “Silent Night” were sung without hymnals. Those lyrics carried a ...

History in the Hills: Snow day at home

Local Columns

This past Tuesday was a snow day for my kids. It was fun for them to be home on a regular day when we didn’t have to run out for a game, doctor appointment or meeting. In a day and age where one is constantly running from thing to thing, a quiet day is a wonderful thing. And what better way to make a kid happy than a snow day. Today, kids find out about a snow day because we get a recorded call from the school. Ours came at 6 a.m. Tuesday. When I was in school, I would wait in front of the TV with the WTOV-TV morning news hoping that Hancock County schools would flash canceled on the ...

Fighting veteran, first responder suicide

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: In the State of Ohio, organizations have the opportunity to create license plates that reflect their cause, offering a unique medium for spreading awareness and raising support. Recently, during the 136th General Assembly, state Reps. Matt Kishman, R-Minerva, and Jodi Salvo, R-Bolivar, introduced Ohio House Bill 419 in front of the transportation committee. HB 419 will create a SAVE22 license plate. SAVE22 is a nonprofit organization that supports stopping suicide in veterans, first responders and active-duty service members. This plate will help raise awareness ...

Guest column/Vaccines don’t cause autism — here’s how we know

Local Columns

As the parent of a nonverbal child with autism, the condition is not one that I watch from the sidelines; it’s one that defines my family’s experiences every day. Every time public figures revive false narratives about vaccines and autism, it reinforces stigma and undermines the incredible progress we’ve made in advocating for acceptance and evidence-based care. False narratives stem from a common statistical misunderstanding: The correlation-causation fallacy, the mistaken belief that if two trends rise in tandem, one must be causing the other. Our brains are hardwired to spot ...