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College football’s post-game skirmishes a disturbing trend

Now that the dust has settled, responsible adults have a duty to look back on what we witnessed during college football’s rivalry week and understand it was all part of a larger and very disturbing trend we must reverse. The Atlantic Coast Conference fined four of its schools — North Carolina State, North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech for in-game scuffles. But those didn’t top what happened after the Michigan Wolverines beat the Ohio State Buckeyes and violence broke out midfield to the degree that pepper spray was employed, one police officer suffered a head injury and the ...

Cabinet nominees deserve he arings

With plenty of buzz surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s planned nominees for cabinet positions, it is understandable for opinions to form early. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was right, then, to suggest the candidates named should be given a chance. “He’s got to appoint the team that absolutely that he believes in,” soon-to-be U.S. Sen. Justice said. “We have to absolutely be fair about this, and we’ve got to give them time to get their feet underneath of them to do the job I know they’ll do.” It’s impossible to miss that in the same breath he is asking ...

Lawmakers look to extend infrastructure ‘life support’

For a fourth time now, Ohio lawmakers are working toward placing on the ballot a renewal of the multi-billion State Capital Improvement Program, which one Mahoning County official referred to as “basically life support” for municipalities, townships and counties working to serve the needs of their residents. Lawmakers are discussing a pitch to extend the program for another ten years by issuing $2.5 billion in new bonds. According to the Ohio Capital Journal, the state Senate has passed its version of the joint resolution to place the measure on the ballot. State Sens. Brian M. ...

Today is a great time to commit to generosity

We’ve made it through Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Maybe we even managed to get the decorations up and catch a little football. What’s next? Giving Tuesday. In what’s been billed as a global generosity movement since 2012, today is a chance to take a deep breath and reflect on how we can make a difference for others — then take action. According to Giving Tuesday Data Commons, an estimated $3.1 billion was donated during last year’s event. Since its establishment 12 years ago, the event has brought in more than $13 billion. “We ...

Vigilance must be ongoing with East Palestine cleanup

More than a year ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Norfolk Southern celebrated the “last load of contaminated soil” being removed from a site near the derailment of an N&S train in February of that year. Now, Chris Hunsicker, overseeing remediation efforts in East Palestine, has had to go before the Village Council to report exceedances of vinyl chloride, benzene, trimethylbenzene and 2-butoxyethanol have been detected through confirmatory sampling. “We are not saying it’s perfect. Nobody is saying that, but we are getting toward the end of the process,” ...

A great time to discuss driving with the elderly in your lives

How many of us greeted one of the more senior members of our family as they arrived for the Thanksgiving feast and wondered how in the world that person was still able to drive safely? How many threw in an extra “watch for deer” to that person on the way out the door, just in case? It may seem unfair to have such worries simply because of their age, but according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Safety Administration, fatal traffic accidents involving drivers over the age of 65 increased by 4.7% between 2021 and 2022, to 7,870 nationwide. That number was ...