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Dept. of Education making it even harder for some students

Editorials

U.S. Department of Education officials missed the mark badly when they decided, purportedly in a revision that is part of the Big Beautiful Bill, to eliminate nursing, physical therapy, public health and other fields from those graduate study fields in which students are able to borrow loans up to the cost of their degree. Those programs are not, in the opinion of bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., “professional.” In fact, only the following fields are now defined as professional programs, according to the Education Department: pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, ...

Husted-led ADOPT fights exploitation celebration

Editorials

Lawmakers do love an alphabet soup when it comes to naming their legislation. But for some, if the clever name helps it stick in the minds of those who will be voting for it, the wordplay is worth the effort. Such is the case with the Adoption Deserves Oversight, Protection and Transparency (ADOPT) Act (and its accompanying Hospital Adoption Education Act) being introduced by U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio. According to Husted’s office, the aim of the bill, which is co-led by U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Katie Britt, R-Ala., is to fight exploitation by unlicensed adoption ...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day celebration

Editorials

There is some debate over exactly when the first Thanksgiving was celebrated on our soil. Many trace it to a 1621 celebration in Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts. That feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. It was, according to historians, actually celebrated between the Pilgrims and Indians. It’s been going on ever since. The message is timeless: giving thanks for an array of reasons. Even those we all take for granted day in, day out. Year in, year out. Pause and take a deep breath. Then let it release slowly. Be thankful for a simple breath of air. And it ...

Questionable intentions come with Ohio HB 486

Editorials

It’s tempting to ask what members of the Ohio House of Representatives were thinking last week, but there is evidence they simply were not. They passed House Bill 486, which comes with the heavily coded moniker the “Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act.” It would “permit teachers in public schools and state institutions of higher education to provide instruction on the influence of Judeo-Christian values on history and culture.” Those wondering whether instruction will include lessons on all people and groups who said they were acting in the name of “Judeo-Christian values” ...

Close local races prove every single vote counts

Columns

The adage that every vote counts was quite evident in this recent election. A Sebring charter amendment and a Farmington fire and emergency medical service levy that were winning by a single vote each, according to unofficial totals from the Nov. 4 election, ended up losing by just one vote when provisional ballots were counted. Also, fewer than eight votes separated winners from losers in five races in Trumbull County communities. In one of those races, a candidate won by one vote. “Your vote counts in these races; it sure does,” said Stephanie Penrose, director of the Trumbull ...

Overcoming limitations during the holiday season

Editorials

Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published Dec. 12, 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 ...