State Senator Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) was sworn in this week as a member of Ohio Senate in the 134th General Assembly. He represents the 20th District, which including all of Fairfield, Guernsey, Hocking, Morgan, and Muskingum Counties and parts of Athens and Pickaway Counties.
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Schaffer Sworn into 134th General Assembly
State Senator Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) was sworn in this week as a member of Ohio Senate in the 134th General Assembly. He represents the 20th District, which including all of Fairfield, Guernsey, Hocking, Morgan, and Muskingum Counties and parts of Athens and Pickaway Counties.
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In the coming days, many of us will gather to spread joy and gratitude and to celebrate the holiday season with family and friends around dinner tables, in houses of worship, and in front of a warm fire.
A growing number of Americans dread the holidays because they expect family gatherings to become a political battle. But our discussions need not be an endless series of political landmines. These five steps can bring peace to our discussions through the holidays and well beyond:
Don’t let the COVID crisis put a damper on your Thanksgiving Day. Several years ago, the founder of the Association of Mature American Citizens, the late Dan Weber (my dad), issued a Thanksgiving Day message at another particularly trying time in our nation’s history. The threats we faced then were disruptive but definitely less threatening than the pandemic that has us safe-distancing, self-isolating and watching too many of our fellow citizens fall ill and perish.
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Every single day, the news gives me a new reason to thank God – that I live in small town America and not in one of the larger cities where I lived during my exile. The coronavirus has a harder time spreading when people do not pile on top of one another on the subway. The chance of a riot breaking out is … remote. And if one did, nobody would justify destroying private property or attacking the police.
State Senator Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) introduced Senate Bill 333 this week, which will require the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) to make payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) to local governments and school districts to make up for tax revenue lost as the State of Ohio purchases the AEP ReCreation Land property.
For your awareness, DAV has issued the following statement regarding the protests and civil unrest across the nation:
May is a time for celebration. The winter finally gives way to the warm sun, and we as a nation prepare for the celebrations of the summer to come. Let us not forget, however, those who have sacrificed everything to give us these warm days of freedom.
You are part of the pandemic story and so am I. Write your own story and send it to your newspaper’s Letter to the Editor. Connect with your community.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released the 2020 edition of the Sunshine Laws Manual, a one-stop resource for information on the Ohio Public Records and Open Meetings Acts.
On Wednesday, Feb. 5, State Senators Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) and Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) gave sponsor testimony on Senate Bill 247, their legislation aimed at further combating human trafficking and prostitution in Ohio.
Public school officials and advocates in Ohio are opposing the expansion of a state voucher program that would require local public tax dollars to pay for students to attend private schools.
Each day, 29 million students participate in the national school lunch program. The Nebraska Food Council is urging Congress to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, with inclusion of the Farm to School Act and Kids Eat Local Act, to bring responsible food choices into schools.
Greetings Morgan County! Well…I did something stupid. I know you’re thinking I’m going to need to get way more specific. Okay, specifically I did something stupid involving a 50-caliber muzzle loader with a scope that I want to share with my fellow Morgan Countians because I think it teaches something about human nature.
Readers of this column know that my cats are a part of the family. However, they are also my silent partners in writing this column.
I usually like to use this space to bring people laughter or deeper insights, but today it's my duty to bring you a somber message, a dire warning about the state of our constitutional Republic.
This week is Thanksgiving because our forefathers recognized “it is meet and right” to give God thanks and praise, as the ancient prayer says. But science has finally caught up with the Bible in discovering that, aside from being a fit way to respond to divine blessings, thanksgiving provides a host of physical and psychological benefits. Here are a few:
Veterans Day provides a special opportunity for us to recognize the bravery and service of the men and women who protect our freedom. Ohio is home to almost 800,000 veterans, the 6th largest veteran population in America. They come from diverse backgrounds, walks of life and points of view, but all share one trait in common – a commitment to a cause higher than self.
Dear Editor:
To the Taxpayers of Morgan County,
Every year on September 11, Americans commemorate the fallen, remember the heroes who ran into the fire, and ask one another the same question: “Where were you?” Sharing our stories helps us bond and furthers the healing. In that spirit, I’m sharing my story.
This year on September 11th, Americans will mourn the 18th anniversary of one of the most horrific days in U.S. history. We will pause and remember the way we felt when we first heard the news. We will recall where we were and who we were surrounded by. We will mourn the lives lost and the families who still grieve.
Andres Powers was born in Connecticut in December 1775. On November 2, 1797, he married Deborah Comstock (1777-1862) at New Canaan, Fairfield County, Connecticut. He came to Ohio in 1805 and joined his brother, Theophilus H., at Federal Bottom.
Of all the words people use to start a conversation, the four that always scare me are: “Hey, did you know?” Too often I don’t know the “information” being passed along because it isn’t true.
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Dear Editor:
Rev. Ben Johnson, of Stockport, spoke about how Christians should respond to a controversial and growing racist movement at an international conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Freedom, independence, self-sufficiency: these are great and glorious concepts. We celebrate them this time of year, whether we process it that way or not, because they’re so deeply engrained in our image of America. We see ourselves as a nation of rugged individualists: seizing the bull by the horns, charting our own course, walking alone into the forest with an axe slung over our shoulder.
What is Public Health? Who is Public Health? What does Public Health do for you?
It’s been awhile since my last column. Since then, my spare laptop died – and four people close to me threatened to follow it.
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To the Editor and Morgan County residents:
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Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has released the 2018 edition of Ohio Sunshine Laws: An Open Government Resource Manual. The release of the manual, commonly referred to as the “Yellow Book,” coincides with the beginning of National Sunshine Week.
Ohio Gun Owners:
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, on March 2, issued a report indicating that 131,345 concealed carry licenses were issued in Ohio in 2017.
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State Senator Troy Balderson (R-Zanesville) announced Monday, Dec. 18, the approval of $1,475,753 in state funds to Ohio University for the construction phase of the Herrold Hall renovations in Zanesville.
To The Editor:
Supporters of the “Ohio Citizen Participation Act” thanked State Sen. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, for introducing a bill to protect Ohioans from frivolous lawsuits that chill their First Amendment rights of free speech.
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