Breaking News

Opinion

A long way to go on innovation in region

Editorials

Residents of this region pride themselves on a pioneering spirit that has spread across generations of those who helped fuel and build this country. But these days, we’re falling behind as others have picked up the torch. In fact, according to WalletHub’s “Most and Least Innovative States (2026),” Ohio ranks 40th in the country, and West Virginia ranks a predictable 49th. According to the study, the most innovative places are Washington, D.C., Massachusetts and California. Those measures are based on data points such as the share of STEM professionals, research and ...

Thank you to all Ohio National Guard members

Editorials

Ohio’s National Guard is made up of 35,000 active and reserve Buckeye State residents who sign on to be available for their state and country when duty calls. If help is needed — whether that be responding to a flood-stricken community or defending our country’s interests halfway around the globe — they stand up. Ohioans got a startling reminder of just how diverse the Ohio National Guard’s membership is when Secretary of State Frank LaRose was activated last week for deployment. According to a report by The Columbus Dispatch, his deployment location will not be disclosed, ...

‘Should we fail, polio will surge’

Editorials

While some folks in Columbus work against vaccines, there are still plenty who understand their importance and are diligently working to fight preventable diseases no matter which way the socio-political winds blow. Members of the Belpre Rotary Club collected more than $1,700 in donations as part of Rotary International’s effort to eradicate polio worldwide. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children should get four doses of inactivated poliovirus vaccine — at 2 months, 4 months, 6-18 months and 4-6 years. Those recommendations have been in place ...

Ohioans deserve better

Editorials

A bipartisan effort by Ohio lawmakers aims to finally put better oversight and accountability measures in place for JobsOhio, which came to taxpayers’ attention again this month after we learned the agency had provided $60,000 in sponsorship funding to “The Callout,” the podcast at the heart of former Ohio State University President Ted Carter’s “inappropriate relationship” scandal. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, state Reps. Justin Pizzulli, R-Scioto County, and Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, are proposing a bill (which as of this writing is yet to be ...

First job can teach you the value of a buck sixty-five

Local Columns

The Way I See It Art Smith I have been a part of the newspaper business for a long time. It was not, however, my first job. My first job was as an assistant soda bottle sorter. Go ahead, reread that line. Pull up a chair kids and listen to a story about how we once made a little ...

Food for Mountaineers provides a lifeline for those in need

Editorials

West Virginia is considered to be the fourth “hungriest” state by organizations such as Feeding America and the U.S. Department of Agriculture studying food insecurity in this country. Certainly, Appalachia is hit hard. The food insecurity rate in southeast Ohio is 17.4%, though some counties in the region are much higher. In the Mountain State, the rate is approximately 16.67%. A significant number of those affected are children. Homegrown efforts such as those of the Highmark Foundation and WVU Medicine are a lifeline for families in need. For that reason, the Highmark Foundation ...