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Crucial decisions

In less than two weeks, voters will decide everything from who holds the highest office in the land to whether long-time school levies will be renewed. The social media cacophony may fool some into believing there will be hordes of voters headed to the polls, but past voter turnout figures suggest that may not be the case. According to figures from the secretaries of state on both sides of the rivers, during the 2022 general election in West Virginia, voter turnout was 42.91%. Back in 2020, however, voter turnout was 63.24%. In Ohio, 2022 general election turnout was 52.32%. For the ...

Exercising caution

Local drivers are, for the most part, back in the habit of obeying safety laws regarding school buses on the roads. But during this National School Bus Safety Week, it is important to remind ourselves not only of the rules but why they are so necessary. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the danger is not just for those still riding on a bus. Between 2013 and 2022 there were 1.5 times more fatalities among pedestrians than occupants of buses — 169 people were killed. During that time 111 school-aged children died in ...

Change for the better

After a year, Ohioans now have clear data to show the benefits of the state’s new distracted driving law. According to a report by the Columbus Dispatch, the law is being credited with an 11.6% decrease in crashes, a 19.4% decrease in fatalities — and a LOT more tickets issued. During the past year, state troopers have handed out 25,310 tickets for distracted driving. That’s a 263% increase over the previous year. That last data point might not sound like a good thing, but it is fantastic news. Before implementation of the law on Oct. 4, 2023, there were 55,857 crashes ...

Bring in employers who pay good wages

Each year, the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies takes a look at poverty in the Buckeye State, and how it is affecting our kids. State of Poverty report numbers came from 2022. In that year, the poverty rate in Ohio was 13.4% — higher than the national average 12.6%. The state child poverty rate was 17.7%. According to the Ohio Capital Journal’s look at the report, researchers assessed poverty’s effect on kids when it comes to housing, food and health care. According to the association, in Ohio there are 79 affordable and available units per 100 renter households ...

Distasteful behavior

Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski behaved so badly via social media that the U.S. Department of Justice is planning to send in election monitors to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws during early voting and on Election Day. Remember last month Zuchowski felt comfortable suggesting on social media that households with political signs in their yards supporting Kamala Harris should have their addresses written down. He suggested that, should a Democrat win the presidency, illegal immigrants should be sent to live in those households, and he called those immigrants ...

What a difference energy efficiency can make

Not everyone in Appalachia has been encouraged to think of energy efficiency in a positive light. Too often, we get told the pursuit of energy efficiency is a progressive, liberal, big-government ploy to get us to turn our backs on our way of life. Of course, the reality is quite different. “Energy efficiency doesn’t just help save the planet – it also helps save you money by lowering the amount of electricity, gas, oil or other types of energy you need to consume,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “While there are some steps you can take to become more energy-efficient on ...