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Our no-kill garden

Local Columns

“You have to cut back on the garden this year,” my wife said. I nod and smile. Of course I will (won’t.) Honey has to share part of the blame because of her no-kill philosophy about the spring vegetable and flower plants she starts in our house under, as she puts it, 16 feet of grow lights. Each little plant is her child. She talks to them, praising those who prosper, worrying over the weak ones, reassuring those undergoing transplantation. She plants carefully according to our needs, but always has extras. She finds homes for most of the surplus; still, I end up putting more ...

Support for the St. Clair Township police levy

Letters To The Editor

I feel it is imperative we citizens of St. Clair Township vote YES for the police levy Tuesday, May 5. I’m sure we want the same level of professional law enforcement we are now provided and, to continue this, we need our officers to have individual body cameras, patrol our streets and roads in updated vehicles (not ones with 150,000 miles on them). We need to ensure they receive the best updated training in tandem with having the most updated equipment. We need to maintain the same number of officers we now have and not have to lay anyone off. We need to ensure our officers are ...

Ohio’s economy needs to be diversified and expanded

Editorial

February job loss numbers tell a complex tale in Ohio, as despite the loss of 5,400 jobs, the unemployment rate actually went down. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, that is because 2,000 Buckeye State residents simply left the workforce. On top of that, Molly Bryden, a Policy Matters Ohio researcher, said the state’s economy is also more vulnerable to economic turbulence because of federal policy decisions; and is STILL dealing with the changes in the employment landscape wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuts to federal and state government services (and, ...

Ohio deserves energy reliability

Letters To The Editor

Ohio’s energy grid is under unprecedented strain, threatening the very foundation of our state’s economic stability. Energy is the lifeblood of Ohio’s manufacturing sector and heavily supports the state’s labor force. Resolving our energy crisis is a matter of economic security, and the recently announced acquisition of AES Ohio is a significant step. As a former Wellsville City Councilman, I have witnessed firsthand the energy challenges Ohio’s families and businesses face from rising costs and service inconsistencies. The outdated infrastructure of the grid poses a risk of ...

Tomlinson Run Pool Days

Local Columns

David Holbrook died. David was my summer friend and the other half of our gang, The Ringneck Club, during endless boyhood days at the Tomlinson Run State Park swimming pool in the 1950s. David was always there because his father, Napoleon “Nap” Holbrook, was in charge at the state park. Nap may have been park superintendent, but his wife Alta, it seemed to us, was in charge both at home and in the park. The reason I spent so much time at the pool was that family members of anyone working there got free admission. For several summers in the late ‘50s our father and mother both ...

Donald Trump’s sockpuppets

Letters To The Editor

I watch Republican candidate ads on TV; they tout Donald’s endorsement as if it were an answer to everything. My question is simple: why? Are they capable of standing on their own merits, or are they compelled to function as Donald’s sock puppets? Do they require him to babysit them or handhold them because they can’t govern with independence? And if they’re courting voters chiefly through his approval, what does that reveal about their judgment—or about their willingness to break with him when the moment truly calls for distance? What unsettles me is not merely branding; ...