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Across the region, school districts are under siege this week. In Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, threats are being received — and some of them are dealing with real incidents. Reports from multiple media outlets suggest there has been a wave of such threats and frightening situations since the deadly school shooting in Georgia Sept. 4. In Wood and Washington counties there have been not only threats (for the most part deemed not to be credible), there have been at least two situations in which students have now been suspended and are dealing with law enforcement and the ...

Continued work on literacy

Wolf Creek Local School District knew it had a problem to address, and found what so far has been a pathway to success. During Monday’s board of education meeting the district got to celebrate that success a bit with a look back at what the Literacy Committee and the school’s early literacy program have accomplished. “The last two years have been the best two years,” said Brad Lanier, principal of Waterford Elementary School. “This past year … this was our best year at Waterford Elementary and we’d like to thank the board for investing in our staff and some of the ...

Miners deserve best effort on safety

Last week, West Virginia lost another coal miner. Though his home was in South Williamson, Ky., Gary Chapman did his work at the Mountaineer II Mine near Sharples, W.Va. He is the fourth coal miner to have died on the job in West Virginia just this year. That is half the national total for coal mine deaths. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration, on May 16, in Wyoming County, the classification for the fatal accident was “machinery;” on July 12, in Wyoming County, the classification for the fatal accident was “powered haulage;” on ...

Industry shift could happen here in Ohio

Ohio’s diversifying economy includes a new addition that can help tackle challenges ranging from environmental concerns to avoiding dependence on foreign companies. Nth Cycle in Fairfield will extract nickel and cobalt from scrap material to reduce reliance on open pit mining, avoid those same materials being dumped in landfills AND avoid having to send the materials overseas for refining. Almost all of us are dependent on materials such as nickel and cobalt because of our use of lithium ion batteries. Nth Cycle builds systems that yield nickel and cobalt from a form of shredded ...

Follow burn ban rules

A storm or two has made little difference for local counties suffering under an extended “extreme drought.” The consequences have been so extensive that Ohio Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon has issued a regional ban on open burning. In Athens, Belmont, Carroll, Fairfield, Fayette, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Tuscarawas, Vinton, and Washington counties, resident have a responsibility to follow the rules set by the ban. ANYTHING that could spark a fire is prohibited, such as: ...

Do better for young offenders

Members of a working group tasked with helping the Ohio Department of Youth Services understand how best to work with younger offenders reported something that may seem obvious to most. “The younger the kids are, generally the worse they do in a secure congregate environment,” the group’s report said. Therefore, the group recommended, children under age 14 should not be placed in one of Ohio’s three juvenile prisons, according to a report by WOUB. The group recommended alternative placement for those 13 and under, and that non-violent first-time offenders could go to one of ...