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Suicide Prevention Awareness Month observed in September

Local Columns

As we enter Suicide Prevention Awareness Month this September, we extend a heartfelt message of support, compassion, and hope. This is a time for us all to come together, raise awareness, and demonstrate that no one has to face their struggles alone. Let us use this month as an opportunity to engage in open conversations about mental health, to offer our support to those in need, and to work towards preventing suicides in our community. Together, we can make a difference. In honor of World Suicide Prevention Day on Tuesday, Sept. 10, we invite you to participate in our special event: ...

Is ‘The Silicon Heartland’ taking a shot to the gut?

Editorials

It’s getting harder and harder to be excited about new economic development announcements in Ohio, as the ones already on the table seem to be dropping off at an alarming rate. Intel’s One Ohio project may now be even closer to that edge. According to a report by WCMH, there are rumbles that Intel may be considering how to handle its computer chip manufacturing arm, as part of cost-cutting efforts. Intel has already said it is planning to lay off 15% of its global workforce, suspend its stock dividends program — and the company reported $1.6 billion in losses during its July ...

Drunk driving results in more senseless deaths

Editorials

They were brothers, sons, husbands and fathers, and they are gone far too soon because someone apparently decided to drink and drive. Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matt should have stood with their sister Katie at her wedding Friday in Philadelphia. Instead, what was supposed to be a joyful weekend for the Gaudreau family became the beginning of an unimaginable tragedy that has left the family grief-stricken and shattered. A suspected drunken driver ran down the Gaudreau brothers from behind — killing both of them — as they rode bicycles not far from the family home in Oldmans ...

Ohio’s elected officials need to serve us, not themselves

Editorials

Ohio lawmakers and other elected officials have a habit of trying to circumvent the will of the people, no matter how loudly Ohioans have spoken. Another recent example comes in the collection of state laws that combine to create a 24-hour waiting period for abortions in the state. Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David C. Young has rightly issued a temporary block on those laws, pointing to the decision by voters in 2023 to approve a constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to the procedure. Young went so far as to remind lawmakers the language of 2023’s Issue 1 was “clear ...

Don’t be an at-risk driver, don’t become a statistic

Editorials

Most people understand what at-risk drivers — those intoxicated from alcohol or drugs or distracted by hand-held devices — pose to the those driving along innocently, responsibly and intently aware of surroundings who, nevertheless, gets creamed by a drunk, buzzed or distracted driver. For a quick yet impactful read, visit the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s site (https://statepatrol.ohio.gov/). So far statewide, the OSHP registered 9,723 OVI enforcements, 39,832 seat belt violations — why anyone would not use a seat belt is way, way beyond us — 18,004 distracted driving ...

Using elderspeak is harmful when talking to older adults

Local Columns

The following column was originally published Oct. 9, 2021. 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. ——— When ...