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Letters to the Editor

Thank you!

We, the Marietta AARP Tax-Aides, want to give many thanks to all the people who have helped us over the years. First to the Knights of Columbus for allowing us to use their site for so many wonderful years. Due to the COVID restrictions this year we were unable to use their place. We were having a problem finding a suitable site to use when George Broughton graciously donated space in his GWB Complex. We also want to give thanks to the Washington County Library staff for handling the scheduling of appointments for us. This allowed us to complete over 400 returns this year. We greatly ...

Medication Take Back Day

Medication Take Back Day is Saturday April 24, 2021, 10 a.m to 2 p.m. This is an opportunity to dispose of unused, expired and/or unwanted medication. There are several disposal sites and meds can be dropped off anonymously, no questions asked. You do not have to remove labels from bottles and we will accept any and all medications, including syringes, patches and liquids. Why turn in your unused medications? Drugs can be stolen and sold illegally, children and pets could be poisoned if they find and swallow drugs and unused medications are environmental toxins, as flushing them down ...

Now here’s an idea!

Now here’s an idea! This would be the perfect time to establish year-round schooling in the United States. If I am not mistaken, our concept of 9 months of schooling and 3 months of summer vacation was instituted when our country was mostly agrarian – when children were needed to help on the farm in the summer. That is no longer the case and we should be following the example of the more enlightened European countries of having school all year with periodic breaks here and there. Many of our children are still not in school full time and have fallen behind in their education because ...

Educating America

As an elected official, I am often asked what I think we need to do to “fix” our country. While it’s difficult to limit oneself on such a broad question, I do believe that rethinking how we educate children is an essential component in addressing some of the difficulties our nation faces. In approaching any problem, it is essential to begin with the end in mind. In other words, we should seek to determine what we want young people to “be” or “have” when they finish their education. At various times in American history, we have answered this question differently. At one ...

Bullies are everywhere

Bullying in schools has been at the forefront of education issues for quite some time. We often hear about this being a major problem and wonder how to prevent it. Parents are usually appalled that little Billy or Susie could do such a thing and wonder why their own children could behave that way. The parents are often blamed for the child’s actions. This may be true in some cases, but I would suggest a much larger problem that we all fail to see and have all been guilty of. Our children are learning to be bullies from society as a whole. When we see something, we don’t like or ...

Support Empty Bowls

During this time of year the Empty Bowls organization normally conducts a fundraiser for the good work they perform in assisting with the relief of hunger in our area. As chair of the Matamoras Area Food Pantry I am appreciative for their contributions to our organization. They have been a faithful donor in our efforts to help alleviate hunger in the Grandview Township area. The fact is that 1 in 4 children struggle with hunger in Southeast Ohio. A report by the food banks of this area reveal this unacceptable statistic. For all age groups the numbers who are without reliable access to ...