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Guest column/Some information to consider about carbon capture

Local Columns

I’ve lived in the Ohio River Valley for 70 years, in Jefferson and Harrison counties. For decades, the residents of the Ohio Valley have been paying for the aftermath of extractive industries. That “beautiful clean coal” President Donald Trump refers to took lives, and left a legacy of mine shafts and acid mine run-off. Taxpayers continue to foot the bills to plug orphan oil and gas wells and clean-up un-reclaimed strip-mined lands. Recently, the Ohio River Valley was targeted to become a carbon capture and sequestration hub. This hub will consist of a series of pipelines and ...

Guest column/Explaining county water, sewer rate increases

Local Columns

We understand that no one welcomes an increase in water and sewer rates, and we want to be open and honest about why this adjustment is necessary. Our duty as a county is to ensure that every household and business connected to the system has safe, reliable and affordable service. After careful review, we must adjust rates to keep that promise. We must also think about not leaving future generations with these infrastructure issues. Nobody will want to move to a community with poor infrastructure. To put this into perspective, sewer rates have not been raised since 2009. That means ...

Guest column/West Virginia cannot afford to lose another person

Local Columns

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and in West Virginia, the urgency couldn’t be higher. Our state is no stranger to hardship, but the current mental health crisis demands clear-eyed attention and bold action. In 2023, West Virginia’s age-adjusted suicide rate stood at 18.6 per 100,000 people, among the highest in the nation and significantly above the national average. That is 349 West Virginians we have lost in one year alone. Though this is slightly less than 2022, West Virginians deserve more. The numbers are more than data — they are human lives. In the ...

Drinking water priceless asset

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: I write to thank the Jefferson County Water and Sewer District for the service it provides to residents and other users. The public would be wise to recognize the essential value of good quality drinking water. We literally can’t live without it. We take it for granted at our peril and that is not an overstatement. Jefferson County water users are spread out all over the county and this adds to the expense of maintenance and operations. As was pointed out in the Aug. 3 edition of the Herald-Star, we are the largest geographic system in the state and that ...

Measles vaccine still important

Editorials

As political chatter raises questions about vaccines and legal requirements for them, some news close to home should remind us of their importance. According to the Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department, a measles outbreak was confirmed in the county on Aug. 29. It hit three children from the same family — all unvaccinated. And while those children are reportedly improving at home, the health department’s task now is to work with the family “to identify and follow-up with any exposure and contacts and help where needed.” The Ohio news made its way into a report by ...

Tressel program sets right tone

Editorials

Ohio is getting ahead of the game in terms of student fitness with a new plan from the lieutenant governor. The Team Tressel Fitness Challenge for students in grades 4-8 is a program developed by Jim Tressel — who has some experience in keeping students fit and healthy. “If we can add just a little better fitness and health, it will make us that much better,” Tressel said Aug. 25. His idea is a solid one. Rather than outdated and intimidating goals that might throw a young person off track, the Team Tressel Fitness Challenge would let students pick their own activities and ...