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Lifestyles

New SCOPE director is ready to meet the community

Hi everyone, my name is Jeff Rasile and I am the new director of SCOPE in Trumbull County. I am replacing Mike Wilson who was the director for many years and did an outstanding job of growing SCOPE and providing opportunities for seniors in Trumbull County. I am a lifelong resident of the county and currently live in McDonald. I was a teacher at Champion High School for 28 years and retired in May 2025. I am married to Jackie Rasile who is also retired from Champion Local School District as the middle school counselor. Together, we have three children, Bethany, 26, a nurse; Zachary, 24, ...

Busy job cutting into family time with sister

DEAR ANNIE: My sister, who is also my roommate, started a new job that is keeping her super busy. She doesn’t come home from the office before 10 p.m. most nights, and she’s gone again early in the morning. Her last job was remote, as is mine, so I’m used to having her around all the time. Now I can’t even get her to respond to a text. I know it’s nothing personal. She just needs to be focused on work right now. But still, I’m left feeling like I lost my best friend. I can barely get any time or attention out of her these days. Should I say something, or should I just wait ...

CMV infection in woman causes developmental issues for baby

DEAR DR. ROACH: Could you please inform and educate us, especially pregnant women, about the effects of cytomegalovirus (CMV)? This is the No. 1 reason why children are born deaf to parents that aren’t deaf. My niece was pregnant and evidently caught a bad cold, but it was CMV. She remembers her ears being very stuffy, and she had a hard time hearing. Her doctor noticed that the baby had a smaller head size than normal and calcification in the ventricles of his brain. He had extensive treatments for a number of months. He has problems, including throwing up every time after drinking. ...

Youngstown reader writes to Heloise

DEAR HELOISE: I just read your column that discussed using plastic bags. They shouldn’t end up in a landfill no matter what they contain. Our local grocer recycles plastic bags, so I save the bags and return them. I’m grateful that we have this service. Your readers should check to see if this resource is available in their area. — Donna B., in Youngstown, Ohio DEAR HELOISE: To drop your utility bill, close your closets. Keep the doors shut and unplug as many appliances as you can. If the coffeepot turns itself off, unplug it. You don’t need to heat or air-condition ...

Bridge by Steve Becker

1. Win the heart lead with the king, draw all the missing trumps and cash the A-K of spades, hoping to catch the singleton or doubleton queen. If the queen does not fall, lead the ten of diamonds to the ace and return the queen from dummy, planning to discard a spade if South follows low. The overall chance of success with this line of play is about 60%. If you were to stake the outcome strictly on either a finesse in spades or in diamonds, you would have little more than a 50% chance for the grand slam. Note that it is far better to play South for the king of diamonds than North. ...

Dear Annie: Sees her own future in elderly neighbor’s

DEAR ANNIE: I’m 58, never married, no kids, no siblings, no nieces or nephews. A neighbor of mine is very ill and in a nursing home. She has a daughter, but the daughter barely even bothers to visit her, and it breaks my heart. I call my neighbor often to try to lift her spirits. At the same time, I’ve been dealing with some depression myself. I keep thinking about how I will be 70 one day — and who will be there to visit me? I have health problems, but I stay on top of my appointments. I’m terrified I’ll end up like my neighbor, alone in a home with no one around to show ...