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National Diabetes Awareness Month shows just how much Appalachia has at stake

Editorial

National Diabetes Awareness Month takes on a different significance in Appalachia, and WalletHub’s “2026’s Most Overweight and Obese States in America,” gives some idea why. Obesity is one of the bigger risk factors and primary cause of type 2 diabetes, and West Virginia is the most obese state in the country. Ohio is 15th. Digging into the data gets more and more disturbing. The Mountain State is first for the percentage of obese adults and the percentage of adults with type 2 diabetes. It is seventh for the percentage of overweight children, second for the percentage of ...

Support and healing after suicide loss

Local Columns

When someone you love dies by suicide, it can feel like the ground falls out from right beneath your feet. For the family, friends, and community members left behind – often referred to as suicide loss survivors – the grief is unlike any other. It arrives accompanied by complex shock, profound confusion, and an overwhelming wave of questions that rarely have simple answers. In suicide prevention, a great deal of focus is placed on recognizing warning signs and crisis intervention, which is essential work. But there is another critical side to this effort known as postvention: the ...

Ohio’s Congressional delegation needs to protect juveniles, reject another extension of the intoxicating hemp loophole

Letters To The Editor

Dear editor: As a former Wellsville councilman and school board member, I have spent years focused on Ohio families and children. For years, a gray market for intoxicating hemp products has threatened our communities. With a critical federal deadline approaching Dec. 11, I urge Ohio’s Congressional delegation to resist industry pressure and let the loophole expire. The problem traces back to the 2018 Farm Bill, which inadvertently allowed manufacturers to sell potent intoxicating hemp-derived products. While the law distinguishes hemp-derived THC from marijuana-derived THC, the ...

Ohio lawmakers need to avoid adding costs to colleges while demanding cuts to budgets

Editorial

High school seniors across Ohio are about to face the usual holiday questions from well-meaning relatives. “So, where are you planning to go to college?” or “What are you going to do after you graduate?” For a significant number of those students, the answer will depend on what they and their families can afford; and according to a recent report by the National College Attainment Network, that might be harder in Ohio than in some other states. “When available resources do not cover those costs (tuition, books, housing, food, transportation and other necessities), students ...

Crash Responder Safety Week reminds Ohio residents to pay attention on the roadways

Editorial

Changes in the rules about how we approach and drive by traffic incidents have met some success in reducing the number of injuries and fatalities associated with roadway incident crashes. But there is still a danger to those who trying to help at such scenes. During this Crash Responder Safety Week, Buckeye State residents are reminded to move over, slow down, avoid distraction and expect the unexpected. For fire and rescue, emergency medical services, highway maintenance, towing and recovery and public works employees, sticking to those rules could be a life-saver. “Anytime you ...

The greatest columnists

Local Columns

Memories of my last presentation at the East Liverpool Area Community and Learning Center apparently have faded because my friend Mike Parkes asked me to do it again. “Do you have a subject in mind?” he asked. “I need a title for the list.” It took me only a few moments. “The ...