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Endorsement for Ramaswamy

Letters to the Editor

In 2012, I was invited to a conference held by the Milton Friedman Institute in Indianapolis. The Institute invited 20 or so legislators from around the country to discuss school choice issues and how much progress had been made to that point. Like most conferences we heard from a variety of speakers, one of whom was Tony Bennett (not the singer and not the basketball coach), the Superintendent of Education from the State of Indiana. Bennett oversaw the institution of educational reforms including expanding School Choice options for then Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. Bennett made a ...

Ohio officials working hard to crack down on Medicaid fraud

Editorials

As officials at the federal level go on and on about reducing spending on Medicare and Medicaid by eliminating fraud, waste and abuse, officials at the state level are showing they’ve already been working diligently on that front. Earlier this month, the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed indictments against nine Medicaid providers accused of stealing a total of $1.2 million from the program. These suspects are home health aides and mental health specialists who are accused of billing Medicaid for services they did not actually provide. One suspect, James Ferguson, 28, ...

Becoming equipped to teach others

Editorials

Members of the Coolville Volunteer Fire Department had a chance to go back to school over the weekend, and they brought a few other local departments along with them. Coolville VFD was one of only 15 sites across the country chosen to receive free hazmat training under the Partner in Training Crew program from the National Volunteer Fire Council and U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Fortunately, they were also allowed to play host to Tuppers Plains, Scipio, Pomeroy, Columbia, Carthage Township, Rome Township, Dunham Township, ...

Business is good, but...

Editorials

Ohioans have always had an entrepreneurial and adventurous spirit. But according to a new report by CNBC, it now has the pro-business credentials to match. The news outlet ranked the top states in the country for business in 2025 — using 135 metrics in 10 categories — and the Buckeye State landed at fifth. (For comparison, neighboring West Virginia ranked 40th.) In fact, the only category in which Ohio received a letter grade below a C was for workforce, for which the state received a D+. Methodology for grading workforce was explained this way: “In addition to measuring each ...

Shared duty of vigilance

Editorials

There are certain issues that go beyond politics, beyond petty disagreements, and the scourge of human trafficking in this country is certainly one of them. Policymakers continue to look for ways to stop it, and to find and protect its victims. Last week, Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, announced he is part of a bipartisan effort to put in place measures that should strengthen that effort. Along with Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and U.S. Reps. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Lucy McBath, D-Ga., Husted is introducing the Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act. It would direct the Department ...

How it all started

Local Columns

Lynnda and I have done a prolonged celebration of our 50th wedding anniversary. This only happens once, and we wanted to enjoy it to the max. We started in mid-June with a second honeymoon to Disney World and dinner at the top of the Contemporary Resort. The weekend of the actual anniversary date we had a special cake and celebration with our church family. Last weekend, Lynnda and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with our three children and most of our grandchildren at a mutually convenient resort since they all live out of state. That’s why I do the work I do at Shale ...