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Community efforts should include everyone

September is the start of many things: football season, the school year for some, spooky season if you ask the right people … But this is also Hunger Action Month. Note the difference between this “month” designation and many others. This is not just about awareness; this is about action to “provide nutritious food to neighbors facing hunger,” as Feeding America puts it. The idea is to come together with food banks and volunteers in communities “to build a nation where everyone has the food and support they need.” But that doesn’t happen if YOU don’t take ...

Buckle up for driver training

Get ready. At the end of this month, Ohio drivers aged 18, 19 and 20 will be required to take an approved driver training course and complete 50 hours of driving practice supervised by a licensed adult to get their driver’s license. This is training that is already in effect for those 16 or 17 years old, but it may come as a surprise to older new drivers unfamiliar with the “Class D” training, which must be completed before a driving test can be scheduled. Gov. Mike DeWine has been working to find ways to improve driver safety in Ohio. “We know that somebody who’s had ...

“Calm-down kits” support students

Switzerland of Ohio Local School District representatives delivered 300 “calm-down kits” to students at Elm Grove and Middle Creek elementary schools and Bridge Street Middle School. Those schools in Ohio County serve the areas hit hardest by deadly flash flooding in June. Kits included items such as fidgets, candy, lip balm and hand sanitizer — which provides “tactile grounding” for students, according to school counselors. There were also stickers and notes of positive affirmation for students in the kits, even some full letters of encouragement. Imagine the impact of ...

On Labor Day, we celebrate the hard-working, ordinary people

On this Labor Day weekend, many of us may be thinking of a quick retreat into summer vacation mode during the three-day break. It is a time to celebrate the return of college football and the promise of cooler temperatures. There will be festivals, parades, good food cooked outdoors for perhaps one of the last times this year and a general sense of not only celebration, but transition. Despite most public school boards’ best efforts, THIS is the traditional end of summer. And the break it offers is so appreciated because the people Labor Day is meant to honor have worked hard. ...

Let’s make a difference for Mid-Ohio Valley families

If you are reading this on a full stomach after having a nice breakfast, perhaps not too big, though, after a big meal the evening before; and knowing there is food in your cabinets and refrigerator — maybe even a second fridge or freezer in the garage — you are one of the lucky ones. You are one of the people who has to think about what it means to be food insecure. Too many of your fellow local residents already know. According to a report by the Appalachian Regional Commission, our region as a whole had an estimated 3.4 million food insecure residents (13% of the population) ...

Politicians, railroad officials need to do the right thing

Those hoping for railroad companies to move on their own toward improved safety for their workers and the communities through which their trains run will have to wait a bit longer. More than two and a half years since a Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, not one of the larger freight railroads in the country has signed on to the Confidential Close Call Reporting System, a voluntary federal program that was meant to reduce rail hazards and prevent accidents. According to a report by the Associated Press, BNSF and Norfolk Southern did attempt partial trials, but have not ...