Toxic opioid mixture growing, killing users

August 26, 2018

For a moment, I thought we could catch our collective breath. It appeared the number of opioid overdoses and related deaths were on the downturn. That’s not to say Trumbull County residents and others across the state and the nation are no longer using illegal drugs. Certainly, I’m no expert on this topic, but I do my fair share of reading about it, and it appeared to me drug users, possibly frightened by the immense number of opioid overdose deaths in the news, were switching their drugs of choice to “safer” street drugs like cocaine. (Sounds ridiculous, I know.) Then last ...

Football, yellow buses about to take over

August 19, 2018

If memory serves, it was just last week that we were congratulating our new high school graduates and planning our summer vacation, right? Wrong! It won’t be long until the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting more brisk and it’s time to take down my hanging summer flower baskets and replace them with autumn mums and cornstalks. We are about ready for the Canfield and Geauga County fairs, and by the end of this week, we’ll be settling in for some high school football. While it may be hard for you and me to believe, it’s not so surprising for Tribune ...

Visit ‘Wall’ replica this week to say thanks

August 12, 2018

I recall learning in my high school social studies class in the early 1980s about the wall that was being built in Washington, D.C., to honor those who perished during their service in the Vietnam War. I still can clearly remember my teacher telling us that the wall would be the largest memorial in Washington and the only one that could be described as “underground.” “It will have the name of every person who died or is missing,” she told us. ‘So many names,’ I remember thinking and wondering how in the world that would ever be possible. Of course the Vietnam Veterans ...

Letter writer gains national attention

August 5, 2018

Anytime a national news show airs a story about a letter to the editor published in a local newspaper, my attention focuses quickly. Add to that, a letter written by a 12-year-old girl in neighboring Geauga County to her local newspaper. Then, further add that the topic of the letter was her eloquent argument in favor of equal treatment for boys and girls, and now you’ve really piqued my interest. Girl Scout Julianne Speyer of Russell Township, about 52 miles northwest of Warren, chatted away articulately and without hesitation with national co-hosts Al Roker and Jenna Bush ...

Ballot initiatives can create big problems

July 29, 2018

Patient advocates this month submitted hundreds of thousands of signatures to Ohio election officials hoping to qualify for the Nov. 6 ballot a proposed Ohio constitutional amendment that will add new regulations to Ohio’s kidney dialysis clinics. The group still has about 10,000 valid signatures to go to meet the necessary 305,591-signature threshold. Supporters say the amendment will protect patients from the big corporations operating the dialysis centers. If passed, the amendment would require new annual dialysis clinic inspections and limit patient costs, penalizing clinics that ...

Is drone use becoming constitutional issue?

July 22, 2018

After receiving complaints about drones — remote controlled unmanned aircraft — flying around village neighborhoods, Newton Falls council began considering legislation to limit where drones may fly and take photos. Councilman Tarry Alberini cited three complaints about drone use in the West Broad Street area, and Councilman Phillip Beer raised concerns about residents flying drones near houses, wondering if they were being used to photograph people inside. “There are some people who do not like drones around their homes,” Beer said. OK, I get that. But some of the ...