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Letter off-base on local residents, risks

A recent letter titled “Ohio Oil and Gas Under Attack by California Funded Leftists from Athens County,” is misleading and dismissive of the citizens of this area. Had the author done even the most basic background work, he would know the headline is untrue. For the past three years, Washington County residents have held multiple town halls on the issue of injection wells. I have attended these meetings — yet not once have I seen the author there. Nor have we seen our local elected officials, including state Sen. Brian Chavez, who continues to refuse to answer even the most basic ...

America’s greatest secret weapon

Our grandson is a U.S. Marine. This week I told him about his great-grandfather, my dad, who was a proud U.S. Marine. Dad and other Marines I know are Marines, even if they aren’t currently serving. When the “The Marines’ Hymn” – “From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli” – was played, Dad stood up and sang. Dad fought in the Pacific in World War II. He never talked about combat. Once in a while something slipped out, like when they were landing on Tarawa. The Marines came in on landing boats that couldn’t make it all the way to the beach. They waded ...

Bald Eagles are a national symbol we can all enjoy

It used to be extremely rare to spot a bald eagle along the area rivers. That has changed. The majestic symbol of America, and our national bird, are now common along area waterways. When I rowed crew for Marietta High School in the late 1970s one of our favorite practice routes was up ...

Place names

Do you know what “Toponymy” means? I didn’t. It refers to a study of place names. Every place has a name, it seems. “Places” can be towns, counties, roads, neighborhoods, bodies of water - even stars in the heavens. They are often named for people (for example, Putnam Street), ...

An appeal to our better angels

Since the beginning of time, humans have had an inherent connection to the nature that surrounds them. Even modern humans hold innate primal instincts that connect us to the Earth in one way or another. Whether it be a child’s intuition to play with rocks and dirt or throw sticks like spears without instruction or a person’s joy in a hike through the woods, we are hardwired to connect with our world. And in just as many ways, we are bound to protect it. Much the same, modern humans have found a connection to faith to guide their lives in a way they deem moral and wholesome. ...

Constitutional Amendments 16 and 17

Both the 16th and 17th Amendments were enacted to clarify practices that were practiced, but controversial, and needed settled inclusion into the Constitution. The 16th Amendment, ratified in 1913, granted Congress the power to levy a federal income tax without apportioning it among the states based on population. This amendment allows Congress to tax income “from whatever source derived” and was enacted in response to the Supreme Court’s 1895 decision in Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co., which had restricted Congress’s ability to collect income taxes by ruling that a ...