Breaking News

Opinion

National metrics don’t reflect the economics of households

Editorial

When it comes to economic indicators, the big national metrics don’t always reflect what is happening in ordinary households. But families certainly understand what it means for them if they are forced to rely more on credit cards to get by. According to WalletHub’s “States with Largest and Smallest Credit Card Debt Increases,” released this month, Ohio has the eighth-largest credit card debt increase in the country in the second quarter. In the Buckeye State, the average credit card debt increased by $858,373 from Q1. The average household in the state owes $9,352 in credit ...

Drought and deer

Editorial

A few days ago our son Seed called to ask if we had any garden tomatoes to share. When he arrived to get some, he told us he had gone to his own garden and was surprised to find none, not even any green ones. That should have set off an alarm bell in my head. Next day I noted that a portion of our pole green bean vines had been eaten off to a height that could only mean that deer had been in my garden. I walked my electric fence, found and fixed a couple of ground shorts, and hoped that would take care of that. My garden is not exactly Fort Knox, but it does have protections. On the ...

New Dem congressional map for Ohio goes nowhere fast

Local Columns

You’ve got to give Democratic state legislators a little credit for their quixotic congressional redistricting map proposal. At least they offered something even though the map was never going to go anywhere. The Democratic redrawing of lines would take the current map that favors Republicans 10-5, though two of the Democratic districts are very much tossups, and make it an 8-7 map in favor of the GOP. The Democrats introduced the map Tuesday. By Wednesday, the House Rules Committee, controlled by Republicans, didn’t even bother to refer the bill to a committee. Not that it would ...

Risk of shingles increases as you age

Editorial

Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published Feb. 21, 2020. Thanks to breakthroughs in medicine and nutrition in recent years, we are living longer than ever before. But this increase in life expectancy also brings an increase in the number of diseases, injuries and impairments that affect older adults. With this in mind, we at the local Visiting Angels office in Salem have created this series of articles to keep our older population and their families informed and to offer some practical advice for meeting the challenges faced by seniors and those who care for them. ...

On your feet: Common foot problems for seniors

Editorial

Did you know that each of your feet has 26 bones and 33 joints? The number of muscles, tendons, and ligaments is more than double that. Your feet are complex structures that are exposed to a lot of wear over your lifetime. Think about how much time you spend walking, running, and simply moving across different terrains and shifting positions. As you age, the skin and fat pads on your feet become thinner. Circulation and feeling in your feet may decrease. Your bones may become more brittle and susceptible to injury. A twisted ankle, broken bone, blister, or cut can have a significant ...

Cold-blooded murderer took Kirk’s life but not his message

Editorial

If the goal of Charlie Kirk’s murderer was to silence his voice, he failed. All he did was ensure that two small children will grow up without their father and leave a widow to mourn her husband. Kirk, the founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, will never again engage in conversations with young people on America’s college campuses, but his voice and message will carry on despite his assassin’s despicable act. In fact, Charlie Kirk’s killer ensured that even more people will come to know what the 31-year-old conservative Christian speaker and political activist stood for and ...