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A few election numbers

Local Columns

In the run-up to Tuesday’s election, Bob Gale, director of the Jefferson County Board of Elections, had predicted about 15 percent of the county’s 42,675 registered voters would cast a ballot, while adding that officials were hoping the actual turnout would surpass that number. Those hopes were realized — by the time each of the county’s 57 precincts had reported, the total was 12,838, which put it at 30.08 percent. That number’s not bad for an off-year election, and was pretty consistent with the numbers seen across our region. In Harrison County, for instance, 2,814 of ...

What side are you on

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: While 700,000 people of Arizona are without a duly elected representative, Adelita Grijalva, because the house speaker, Mike Johnson, refuses to swear her in, the entire nation suffers through a government lockdown. She will be the deciding vote that would bring the Epstein Files investigation to the forefront. Instead, Johnson has closed the House doors and given representatives a paid leave to keep them from their work. While the Republican representatives stay away, the Democrats are showing up each week. What many do not understand is that this Continuing Resolution ...

Compromise in Columbus

Editorials

Give credit where credit is due to Ohio lawmakers who worked together to come to a compromise on a redrawn Ohio congressional district map that has its critics, but came as a bit of a surprise to those who expected something much worse. According to the Statehouse News Bureau, Democrat lawmakers acknowledged the decision wasn’t easy — there is still anger and frustration on both sides — but Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, called it “the best of a worst-case scenario.” In fact, U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, told the Akron Beacon Journal she was ...

Ohio has chance to make difference

Editorials

Ohio lawmakers are missing an opportunity to show they are capable of stepping up when federal lawmakers do not. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, there have not yet been any hearings — nor are any scheduled — for House Bill 502, “Appropriate funds for SNAP, TANF, WIC upon lapse in federal funds.” Introduced by state Rep. Latyna M. Humphrey, D-Columbus, the measure would be a safety net — similar to efforts in other states — for the nearly 1.4 million Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients in Ohio. As Humphrey points out, “Grocery stores ...

Warner delivers important message

Editorials

Imagine being 18 (or nearly 18) years old and having someone like the West Virginia secretary of state tell you that, at least in one aspect, you are just as powerful as someone like Taylor Swift or the president of the United States. That’s what local students learned when Secretary of State Kris Warner visited Brooke and Oak Glen high schools to encourage them to register to vote when they are eligible. “No one is any greater or less than anyone else. We’re all equal when we get to the ballot box,” Warner told the students gathered at their respective schools. Warner ...

New chapter opens for Hancock shelter

Editorials

A new chapter has been opened at the Hancock County Animal Shelter. Following a contract signing Friday morning, operations at the shelter, located near New Manchester, will be overseen by the nonprofit Jefferson County Humane Society, which oversees the Jefferson County Animal Shelter in Wintersville. There will be some changes as part of the transition. Humane society managers will be working with existing animal shelter staff to review the operations at the facility and finding out what works and what improvements can be made, sharing ideas and making upgrades to the shelter ...