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Smokeout is a great time to ‘clear the air’

Today is a good day to clear the air, so to speak. It’s the annual Great American Smokeout — marked on the third Thursday in November — when smokers, hopefully, will make the commitment to stop smoking for the day. The goal is to convince smokers that if they can quit for 24 hours, they can quit for good. You don’t have to stop smoking in one day. Start with Day 1, literature from the American Cancer Society reminds. It’s a great first step to stopping an extremely bad habit that could lead to dire consequences. Like with most efforts, there is good news and bad news to ...

Columbus Neo-Nazi march was repugnant

Letter writers to The Columbus Dispatch were spot on earlier this week with a response to a neo-Nazi march in the Short North neighborhood of our state’s capital on Nov. 16. “The variety of people living and enjoying themselves in each other’s company in this neighborhood must feel to them like a constant repudiation of their goals and fantasies. Let’s keep it up,” wrote Justin D’Arms and Joanne Goldhand in a letter the Dispatch published Tuesday. Other city and state officials rightly jumped to denounce the tiny gathering of those so covered in clothing and masks it was ...

Women’s Suffrage Monument planned

Ohio has played a significant role in our country’s history on many levels — from the Underground Railroad to conquering the skies (and space). It’s no surprise that Ohio played a significant role in the women’s suffrage movement, too. Salem played a big role. According to data, the Ohio Women’s Convention at Salem in 1850 met on April 19–20 in Salem — a center for reform activity. It was the third in a series of women’s rights conventions that began with the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. It was the first of these conventions to be organized on a statewide basis. ...

Probe, fully prosecute senders of hate texts

“Other people have no First Amendment right to your phone and free speech doesn’t protect telephone harassment.” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost posted those words on social media after opening an inquiry into a series of hateful texts that reached Ohioans, which were part of a nationwide text effort that threatened Black men, women and children and implied a return of slavery was imminent. Students as young as middle school reported receiving the texts. According to a report by The Journal-News, some of the texts included instructions for reporting to plantations and mentioned ...

Spotlight is on National Young Readers’ Week

Remember the Book It! program that kept many of us interested in reading through our formative years? It is still alive and well — turning 40 this year, as a matter of fact, and has spun off into supporting a National Young Readers’ Week each November. It is billed as “the perfect opportunity to introduce our young ones to the incredible world of books.” Surely parents and teachers are already doing that, but it never hurts to use a special occasion to hammer home the point. Children who are encouraged to embrace reading are better learners and thinkers. They have expanded ...

If you are able, take a cue and dig deeper

Ohio residents tend to do what we can to take care of one another. If there is a need, we try to meet it. Given that there are still so many struggling in our state, that need is not likely to lessen any time soon. It is fortunate, then, that according to WalletHub’s report on “Most Charitable States,” Ohio ranks 16th in the country. The state ranks 13th for volunteering and service, and 23rd for charitable giving. That giving doesn’t usually come in the form of money, though, as Ohio is ranked a lowly 46th for the percentage of the population who donate money, but an ...