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So, what happens if I don’t vote?

“It doesn’t matter anyway”, “What’s one Vote?”. These comments are often heard from people who choose not to vote. The idea that one vote can’t possibly have an effect is a common misconception. In fact, throughout our history, there have been very close votes that made the difference in the direction taken by America. In 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes lost the popular vote, but won the electoral college by a single vote. In 1960, JFK won the popular vote by less than 120,000 out of 68.8 million votes cast. In 2000, the Al Gore and George Bush race was determined an even race ...

Racers are already a step ahead of you

If you are reading this late Saturday morning, your friends, family and neighbors may already be one step ahead of you. Many of them are as much as 30,000 steps ahead of you because they have already competed in and completed the News and Sentinel Half Marathon or Two-Mile race. The newspaper has been the lead sponsor of the race since 2002. We took a two-year break during COVID, which means that this was the 21st race that I have worked on. That’s more than 300 miles of racing. That’s a lot of miles, and a lot of people, running and walking thousands of miles. Hundreds of ...

Area rivers teem with life

The area’s rivers have always been important for those living in the area. Native Americans frequently fished the waters, and hunted the game, such as elk and bison that came to the water edge. When the European settlers first arrived, they found the abundant fish and the game living nearby to be a valuable food source. Early writing about the area describes eight bison being hunted along Duck Creek during the winter of 1792. Some of the fish caught in area rivers were huge, including a 96-pound pike caught in the Muskingum in July of 1788. Those living in Ohio hunted much of ...

A community tortoise rescue

Thank goodness for helpful — and vigilant — friends and neighbors willing to keep an eye out for runaway red-footed tortoise Sammy last month. After giving his owner, Ray Swick, the slip during a walk at Civitan Park in Belpre, Sammy was tracked down with the help of Charlotte Modesitt, who put up flyers; Susie Ashley, who posted Sammy’s plight on social media; and Jenny Maze and her daughter Kenisyn, who finally spotted Sammy crossing Blennerhassett Avenue at the Civitan Club. And thank goodness Kenisyn was willing to pick up the tortoise, put it in her lap and check social ...

We are all in the dreaded middle seat

Sometimes flying for pleasure is such a pain that you need a vacation when you get to your destination. Case in point, a recent cross-country trip with my family. It seemed easy enough, catch an early morning flight in Columbus, change planes in Phoenix, and fly on to our destination. All was going well until the dreaded announcement that there was a problem with one of the radios on the plane and we would be delayed for a little bit. I knew that our layover was short. I headed to the counter to see what was up just as the gate agent made the dreaded announcement that the flight was ...

Lawmakers must continue funding the arts

Schools and communities that value and support the arts and arts education understand such things are not a luxury. The arts are essential. Fortunately, it appears state officials and lawmakers understand that, too. This year, the Ohio Arts Council has been supported to the degree that it was able to approve a record $22.7 million in arts grants — 935 of them to Buckeye State artists and arts organizations. It is the largest single round of grants distributed to OAC funding applicants in the agency’s history. “On behalf of the board, the Ohio Arts Council thanks Gov. Mike ...