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Current events grab limelight in 30th District

Economic development, infrastructure, education and the heroin epidemic are key focuses of the 30th district race for the Ohio Senate.

The incumbent, Lou Gentile, D-Steubenville, is challenged by Republican Mingo Junction resident Frank Hoagland, with the winner to be decided Nov. 8 at the polls.

Gentile brings five years of experience in Columbus legislature to the table as well as 86,000 miles on his vehicle for the office since 2013.

“You have to be accessible and available to your constituents,” said Gentile. “I have spent my years traveling across the district to understand their concerns and accurately represent them in Columbus. At the end of the day I vote for what’s in the best interest of the district, regardless of party stance.”

Hoagland brings 21 years of military experience and the ownership and partnership in three businesses benefiting school safety programs, veterans and law enforcement training.

“I am a retired Navy SEAL, which means leadership has been drilled into me,” said the  candidate. “I’ve always had to earn my position and though I’m not polished with vernacular, I want to get the job done for residents of my district.”

Hoagland said the change he believes Columbus legislature needs is members who are “not career politicians.”

“I don’t care if you’re Republican or Democrat, right is right and wrong is wrong,” he said. “We need people of action in Columbus to get rid of over-regulation and get people of our district back to work.”

Gentile said he has proven his determination to work across party lines on bills concerning awarding education credit to veterans, working against oil and gas taxes that would have handicapped eastern and southeastern Ohio and rallying for coal and other energy industry workers’ rights.

“But we have more work to do with economic development and job growth,” he said. “As the oil and gas industry matures, we should look to the manufacturing options coming to the area like an ethane cracker plant and other supplementary companies that want to be near our natural resources.”

The state senator said one way in which he has promoted both the energy industry in the district and also held those companies accountable for hiring locally was through his work on the Shale Workforce Report which he said creates transparency and tallies the services provided to oil and gas.

“I’ve been a voice for the workers of construction, pipefitting and the like to make sure our local people are hired first for the job,” he said.

But one challenge that both Gentile and his opponent Hoagland agree upon when it comes to the development of natural resources is infrastructure, or the lack thereof in eastern Ohio.

“You have to not only have a well-educated workforce prepared to enter the industry, but to invest in good roads, bridges, sanitary sewers, drinking water and broadband communication to attract those businesses to invest in the area,” said Gentile.

“People in our area want to feel relevant,” said Hoagland. “If you build the communications infrastructure then the big industries will move in and hire our hard working residents. Right now we don’t have the infrastructure to support that though.”

Hoagland went on to say with high unemployment rates throughout the 30th district, residents are “embarrassed” to be a part of the “rust belt.”

“Utilizing our energy resources will make people feel relevant again, they’ll know to what they’re contributing,” he said. “To expand our use of our natural resources we need to get the feds and the state regulations off of our backs so people can contribute and be relevant.”

Education

Hoagland said one way he believes job and economic growth would blossom in the 30th district would be through sound vocational training, college credit programs and the removal of Common Core.

“I work with a lot of teachers and they are tired of all of the tests,” he said. “Getting rid of Common Core is one of my priorities.”

Meanwhile Gentile said he believes funding should be reassessed for the state’s school system.

“We need to reign in the for-profit charter schools and invest more in our public K-12 education,” he explained. “We can’t balance the budget on the backs of schools the way the governor has. We have to look at the priorities and evenly balance tax breaks for folks at the top with the good infrastructure of police and fire and an educated workforce.”

Addiction Epidemic

“Everyone knows someone who has succumbed to addiction and knows that it knows no socioeconomic boundary,” said Gentile. “You can’t just pass one piece of legislation to make it go away, but we need to make sure there are resources available for treatment of those who want help on their path to recovery. And there needs to be better education to prevent abuse.”

Hoagland had similar words concerning addiction saying first responders should have the support and funds to administer life-saving medication like Narcan, and angled for better preventative K-12 education in schools.

“We need a program like the D.A.R.E. initiative that’s specifically designed for the heroin epidemic,” said Hoagland. “And we need to provide for counseling and have money set aside so people who hit rock bottom have a chance to recover.”

Voters from Carroll, Harrison, Jefferson, Belmont, Monroe, Noble, Washington, Athens, Meigs and part of Vinton county will decide which candidate will represent the 30th district Nov. 8.

The candidates

Frank Hoagland

¯ Age: 53.

¯ Address: Mingo Junction.

¯ Party: Republican.

¯ Education: United States Military Professional/UDT/SEAL.

¯Occupation: Small Business Owner.

Lou Gentile

¯ Candidate for Ohio Senate, 30th district

¯ Age: 37.

¯ Address: Steuben-ville.

¯ Party: Democrat.

¯ Education: Steubenville Catholic Central High School, West Virginia University.

¯ Occupation: State Senator.

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