Breaking News

Opinion

Don't let up on literacy push in Ohio

Editorials

Education officials in Ohio have done an excellent job focusing on improving literacy for younger students, with the implementation of the 3rd grade reading guarantee and the science of reading. Now a report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute urges them to keep pushing. Combining intervention and support for younger students with reading deficiencies with the science of reading has produced impressive results. Among the improvements highlighted in the report are elementary schools transitioning to higher quality literacy programs, educators receiving support in implementing the science ...

Avoid the risks of leaving kids unvaccinated

Editorials

Need another reason to be sure your child is up to date on vaccinations, including measles? It won’t just keep them healthier (maybe even save their lives), it will keep them in school. A Cleveland.com story focusing on northeast Ohio noted nearly 1 in 8 Geauga County kindergarten students have an exemption for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination requirements. To keep them safer, then, they must be excluded from any affected school until 21 days after the onset of the last known measles case, according to the Ohio Department of Health. And, as Cleveland.com points out, measles ...

Obey school bus safety rules for kids’ sake

Editorials

Parents with school-aged children are already well aware, but other drivers will have noticed by now: School is back in session, and the buses are on the road. That means students — of all ages, experience and supervision levels — will be walking to and from schools and bus stops at least twice a day, all week. Drivers must be alert and follow the rules. "It's about the safety of the kids," Alicia Jaramillo, transportation director of Warren Local Schools, said last week. "We have a lot of (illegal school bus passes) especially on (Ohio) 339 and 550." Unless you are inconsiderate, ...

Step up to fill kids' needs this school year

Editorials

Lineworkers at AEP Ohio’s Marietta Service Center organized a donation drive to collect personal care/hygiene products for students and families in the Fort Frye Local Schools district ahead of this school year. According to Fort Frye Superintendent Stephanie Starcher, it’s a big need. "We are always accepting those, because we provide a lot of those types of supplies to families and students in need," Starcher said. "Each year, we usually wipe out our supply." Fort Frye also feeds students, of course; is developing an in-school health clinic partnership; maintains a ...

MOV Climate Corner: C8, water and household pollution management

Local Columns

If you live in the Mid-Ohio Valley and rely on public water, it is worth knowing whether your community is filtering for C8 and other forever chemicals. The region is widely known for C8 contamination linked to DuPont Washington Works. What most people probably don’t realize is that Parkersburg, the community most closely identified with this global crisis, has yet to implement a filtration system to deal with the problem. Across the Mid-Ohio Valley, the pollution is widespread, yet some communities have filtration and others do not. Some of us have benefited from filtration for ...

The Way I See It: Newsroom legend Jim Bartholow left his mark on newspaper

Local Columns

Generations of young journalists got their start working in the newsroom of The Marietta Times, including me. For 46 years Jim Bartholow helped to gently guide them along. He knew what was going on in their heads because he had been in their exact same spot. Jim started at The Times directly out of Ohio University in 1972. He stayed there until he retired in 2018. He died last week. Jim held a lot of jobs at the newspaper, both official and non-official. When I started at the newspaper in 1977, Jim was covering city government. He also covered sports on the weekends, and it was while ...