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Check in with your local VFD

Volunteer fire departments across the Buckeye State are experiencing reduced staffing levels at the same time they are receiving an increased number of calls. Of course, most of those who are working in those departments also have full-time jobs; and for many, those jobs are also jobs of service. That’s why the State Fire Marshal Division and Ohio Department of Transportation took a moment Tuesday to recognize the more than 70 ODOT employees who also serve as volunteer firefighters or emergency medical technicians. The event focused on employees in ODOT Districts 5, 9, 10 and 11 in ...

Roll up your sleeves for the Red Cross

Disasters near and far have deepened the desire in many to help — to somehow do something amid all this suffering and struggle. In many of the hardest hit places, the American Red Cross is helping — and if we can’t be involved in those direct efforts, we can certainly do something to help that organization fulfill its mission. Part of that mission is, of course, keeping hospital shelves stocked with blood and blood products. The need for that never ceases. At the moment, the organization is asking especially for those with type O to donate blood, though all types are ...

Buckle up and save lives

Seat belts. For the vast majority of us, putting on a seat belt when entering the car is second nature. But for some, unfortunately, the act remains optional — and that’s leading to fatal results. In Ohio over the Fourth of July weekend, 10 people died in car crashes, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Of those 10 fatalities, six were not wearing seat belts. The issue goes deeper. According to the Columbus Dispatch, during the Fourth of July weekend troopers issued 2,286 seat belt and child safety seat violations. How is that possible in 2025? The problem is ...

Consider what you can do

Organizers of the Miracle League of the Mid-Ohio Valley are aiming for some lofty goals, both for their organization and the communities it serves. With the determination to demonstrate baseball is for everyone, the league put on a second demonstration game over the weekend in Parkersburg’s City Park. Facilities at the park worked well enough for a single game, but the league has ambitions for a full season’s worth of games on its own fully accessible field. “The Miracle League is a barrier-free baseball league for individuals with disabilities,” said Amber Stover, one of the ...

Measles outbreak isn’t over

Though an outbreak in Ohio appears to have subsided since the spring, outbreaks of measles are still popping up all over the country. The summer break does not seem to have slowed the spread of this dangerous disease. Canada and Mexico are experiencing thousands of cases (and some deaths), too. Most recently, Kentucky has announced its first measles outbreak of the year, with four cases in Fayette and Woodford counties. That brings the total in Kentucky to seven. In the U.S., the total number of confirmed cases this year sits at 1,267 — just shy of the 30-year high. Arizona, ...

The importance of the ordinance

Next week, local residents will continue the celebrations of this country’s early days and values on the 238th anniversary of the “Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio.” At 10:30 a.m. July 9, in East Muskingum Park, Paul LaRue, president of the Ohio State Board of Education, will talk mainly about Article 3 of that document and the effect it has had on education in this country for centuries. But there is so much more worth celebrating in that founding document. At the time, the authors made repeated references to ...