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Ohioans deserve economic hope

February job loss numbers tell a complex tale in Ohio, as despite the loss of 5,400 jobs, the unemployment rate actually went down. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, that is because 2,000 Buckeye State residents simply left the workforce. On top of that, Molly Bryden, a Policy Matters Ohio researcher, said the state’s economy is also more vulnerable to economic turbulence because of federal policy decisions; and is STILL dealing with the changes in the employment landscape wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuts to federal and state government services (and, ...

Fort Frye team leads with Project ADAM

A response team made of teachers, coaches, administrators and support staff at Fort Frye Local Schools is trained and ready to take potentially life-saving action should a sudden cardiac arrest occur. They are a “heart-safe” school system, as designated by the Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Project ADAM, after acquiring more automated external defibrillators, training staff and establishing rapid-response protocols. “We worked together … and went over how to respond and what to do in situations like this, and the locations of the AEDs … so that way, if ever I’m not ...

Take part in National Prescription Takeback Day

If you’ve been waiting for a chance to clear out your cabinets, garage and basement clutter, and maybe some of what’s been hanging out in the shed for too long, Saturday is your chance. It is National Prescription Takeback Day and Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day in Washington County. It’s been a few years, but the SouthEastern Ohio Joint Solid Waste Management District is again sponsoring the hazardous waste collection effort from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at American Styrenics Employee Park, 17401 Route 7. Residents of Muskingum, Monroe, Morgan, Guernsey and Noble counties can ...

McKinley: A champion for Mildred Schmidt, West Virginia

West Virginians lost a determined champion last week with the passing of former U.S. Rep. David B. McKinley. Many of them might never have known how much thought — and work — he put into serving the state he loved, but they are better off because of him, just the same. Never the kind to worry about the letter after his or his colleagues’ last names more than about doing the right thing, McKinley was also unwilling to give in to the temptation to campaign via efforts to score dirty political points. Operatives across the country may have been advising candidates to do just that as ...

Support vulnerable older residents, too

Public officials well aware of Ohio’s problems with a shortage of accessible, affordable housing might not be aware of a growing problem related to that challenge. Nursing homes are sending patients to homeless shelters at a growing rate. A Signal Ohio report earlier this month looked at nursing homes transferring “older, poorer and medically fragile” patients to homeless shelters. In fact, seven nursing home facilities in Ohio have been faulted in the past few years for efforts to dump patients into homeless shelters. Eastland Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Columbus caught ...

Community support helps BrAva Mom Prom make difference

What began as an effort to honor two local girls who faced childhood cancer by raising money to support local families and research has turned into a community-wide drive that has donated more than $735,000 over the years. BrAva is a nonprofit organization many will recognize because of the annual BrAva Mom Prom, which this year raised another $74,000 for childhood cancer awareness and research. “Events like BrAva Mom Prom are a powerful reminder that when communities come together with this much energy and heart, it directly fuels that research and progress families are counting ...