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State dives into face masks issues

Like many other COVID-19 pandemic issues, mandatory face masks for students at schools is causing a divide. The number of cases is hitting new highs on a routine basis with Ohio not seeing anything like this since January. We’re heading in the wrong direction. Many remain unvaccinated. Kids under the age of 12 can’t get a vaccine so while at school they’re not that protected from the virus. They also can be carriers who bring it home to vulnerable adults. That’s why some school districts have mandated face masks for all. Others have chosen some sort of mask requirement. Rather ...

He needs to solve his own relationship issues

Dear Annie: My wife “Monica” has been having a mostly texting affair with “Mike” for almost two years. There are emails where they address each other with, “Hey, babe.” It is disgusting. I accidentally discovered this years ago, and again recently after I thought they had not talked for years. Upon this discovery, I texted Mike angrily — he is not someone I actually know, but I took his number from my wife’s phone — and my wife claims that it’s “over.” I’ve heard this before. My wife asked me not to contact Mike’s wife because “they would probably ...

All Those Wedding Plans. . .

There are a thousand and one things to plan for a wedding. One thing we definitely did not plan for was the chance that the bride would have emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix and a raging peritoneal infection only six days before the marriage ceremony. Today, the day I am writing this, is the day on which our son Worshrag and his betrothed, Busy Bee, were to have been married. For the past month I have been writing in this column about how they met and fell in love, and about my small part, which has been to make our old barn fit to host the reception. My plan for today’s ...

Anxiety after loss of husband

Dear Annie: My husband passed away in April after suffering for many years from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. I was his caregiver for over a year, along with hospice. It was very hard on me. Since he passed, I have been lost, depressed and have a lot of anxiety. I don’t have much of a support system because my family members have all passed away. I stay at home, grieving terribly. I have suffered from depression for many years. Now the depression and anxiety feel overwhelming. I have been unable to get my meds right, which is very difficult to say the least. I want to get ...

Georgia’s Appalachian Region

As a member state of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), Georgia has effectively used federal funds to make strategic investments in projects to assist communities, support business development and job creation, and improve economic opportunities for hardworking Georgians in the ...