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Veterinary sedative joins drug epidemic

Editorial

It is breathtaking to watch the manner in which the substance abuse epidemic in our region continues to evolve. Just last month, officials in Gallia County in southern Ohio, warned a growing danger has reared its head — Xylazine. The powerful veterinary sedative, which is, of course, not intended for human use at all, has been found in the region; sometimes mixed with fentanyl and other opioids. Of course, it would not be foolish to believe that such drugs are out in our own readership areas and not limited to southern Ohio. A wider area — or “turf” — coverage the better for ...

Sometimes it’s more than a common cold

Editorial

It is the season during which many of us simply accept that we will get the common cold or come down with the flu, but failure to do all we can to prevent such viruses can be dangerous. In some cases, it can be deadly. Last week, Ohio reported its first pediatric flu death of the season — a teenager under 18 in Greene County, according to state health officials. In fact, each year there are between one and seven pediatric flu deaths in the state. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nationwide 6,300 to 52,000 people died from the flu annually between 2010 ...

Tearing up a tile floor

Local Columns

My wife noticed as I sat down in my recliner that I had a pen and a clean sheet of paper in hand. “Are you making a to-do list?” she asked. “Why? There’s only one thing on your list.” True enough. When I’m into a project like tearing up the ceramic tile floor in our kitchen, it becomes my regular job. I get up, have my coffee, feed the barn cats, bring in firewood, and start busting up tile. I’m not saying I work constantly, or like a maniac. I’m a patient plodder. I guess because we built it ourselves, for a long time I continued to think of our house as new, but ...

Late-arriving ballots will not be counted

Local Columns

Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican responsible for overseeing elections in Ohio, often says that in this state “it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat.” Yet Republicans continue to follow President Donald Trump’s lead by restricting voting despite the minuscule instances of fraud in Ohio. The latest law, approved Nov. 19 by the General Assembly and signed Dec. 19 by Gov. Mike DeWine, requires all mail-in ballots to arrive at county boards of elections no later than the same day as the election. Before that, voters had to have their ballots postmarked by the day before ...

AG Yost highlights 2025 human trafficking wins

Local Columns

Reducing the demand for human trafficking remained a top priority for Attorney General Dave Yost in 2025, as evidenced by task force successes and changed lives. Following is a press release from his office that we present as a guest column today on criminal activity we should all be aware of and on the look out for during our day-to-day lives: “Our message is simple: Don’t buy sex in Ohio,” said AG Yost. “Every time we arrest a trafficker, raid an illicit massage parlor or free a victim from a tormentor, we move closer to the day when no human is bought or sold in our ...

Gov. DeWine’s statement on anti-fraud measures for public-funded childcare

Editorial

To avoid Ohio’s publicly-funded childcare system from becoming an absolute disaster like Minnesota, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine issued a statement. We laud his leadership in doing so. The waste of tens of millions of taxpayer-dollars was — and who knows? — still likely going on in Minnesota is pathetic and all involved including the fraudsters and those in public service who neglected oversight should be fully prosecuted. Right, go ahead and chuckle now. The governor’s statement reads: “People are rightfully concerned about what is happening with state-funded childcare facilities ...