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You are needed right now

Editorials

If your New Year’s resolutions included finding small ways to do good more frequently, the American Red Cross has some ideas for you. You — yes, you — are needed, right now. A glance at the organization’s website reveals an alert that there is an “EMERGENCY NEED for type O blood” because winter weather has caused a decline in donations. There’s even a pitch that if you donate by Jan. 4, you will receive a Red Cross long-sleeved t-shirt; and if you give blood before Jan. 31, you can earn points to be used toward rewards. Local opportunities to give blood include 9 a.m. ...

Don’t rush when it comes to water quality

Editorials

Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency has extended the public comment period to Jan. 16 as it considers fast-tracking a general wastewater permit for new data centers in the Buckeye State. Right now, the state EPA’s draft permit includes “a lowering of water quality of various waters of the state associated with granting coverage under this permit necessary to accommodate important social and economic development in the state of Ohio.” But among the questions such a statement raises are WHY it is necessary. WCMH spoke to water quality advocate Amy Swank, of Dublin, who said ...

Who’s misinformation?

Letters to the Editor

Let me start this letter with a review of an Oil and Gas Association person who gave a talk at the commissioner’s meeting a few weeks ago. He made the statement that injection wells are just returning prehistoric brine back into the ground where it came from. To his credit he was about 90% correct. What he did not say was that the brine is about 90% of what is pumped back into the ground. However, the remaining 8% plus or minus, is the fracking chemicals that are hazardous, radioactive, and toxic waste. Some of the chemicals combine with the brine salts and cause chemical changes to ...

Happy New Year, everyone!

Editorials

As we wrap up one year and look hopefully ahead to the next, most in our region are looking forward to the possibility of peace, prosperity, success … all the good things that are possible when the blank slate of an entire year stretches out before us. Sure, we take some accountability by assigning resolutions to ourselves — improvement plans to which we say we will stick for 365 days. (On the other hand, some eat their pork and sauerkraut and hope for the best knowing they’ve done their part.) But it is worth asking ourselves: What do we truly want for ourselves, our families, ...

More elderly than young children

Editorials

Elected officials and policymakers in Ohio have plenty to work on in the coming years. We talk a lot about the loss of population, but there’s a follow-up to that: The Buckeye State’s population is shrinking AND aging. Data projections show that by 2040, the percentage of residents 65 or older will rise to 25%, while the percentage of those 85 and older will make an even more significant leap. This is not just an Ohio problem, of course. “For the first time in our nation’s history, we will have more older people than young children,” Ursel McElroy, director of the Ohio ...

Crippling labor shortages in the skilled trades

Editorials

Those who have the opportunity to spend time with younger family members over this holiday break may be tempted to ask questions such as “What do you want to be when you grow up?” or “What are you studying in college?” A growing number of employers are hoping the answer to that question is plumber, carpenter or even conveyor belt repairperson. There are so few people entering (or staying in) the skilled trades that consulting firm McKinsey predicts an estimated imbalance of 20 job openings for every one net new employee between 2022 and 2032. Employers such as Walmart and ...