Mahoning auditor clarifies points on tax values, schools

February 13, 2022

The Jan. 30 article titled “Challenge to school taxing divides legislators by party” had some omissions and misleading statements. The County Auditors Association of Ohio has issued a memorandum in opposition to the recent amendments to House Bill 126. The CAAO supported an earlier version of the bill that improved transparency and fairness, but is now opposing the revised version as too restrictive. As background, some Ohio school districts have aggressively filed Board of Revision actions against residential property owners. In Mahoning County for the last BOR filing period, ...

Razing of historic church follows its role in uniting community

February 6, 2022

Recently, after a long effort to save the Old Welsh Church on Elm Street, and years after the church fell into dangerous disrepair and ceased being used for religious worship, the Diocese of Youngstown filed paperwork with the city in preparation for razing the building. Naturally, this news has evoked sadness among many, since the structure is understood to be the oldest existing church structure in Youngstown. As vicar general for the diocese and an advocate for local history, I too share that sadness. I write now for two reasons: to help the public understand why it is necessary to ...

Time to make mental health parity a priority

January 30, 2022

Mental health is health — period. When someone gets the flu, or sprains an ankle, there’s no question about whether care is needed. If that person has health insurance, they can go to their doctor, or nearest urgent care or hospital. It’s often a commonplace, run-of-the-mill experience. You go in, you pay a copayment, you see the health care professional, and you’re on your way home. Unfortunately, the experience for someone with a mental health condition or in need of treatment for substance use disorder is usually very different. Often, people feel apprehensive about ...

College isn’t for everyone, and that’s perfectly fine

January 16, 2022

As a high school student, deciding what comes next after graduation can be challenging. The natural choice is college for some, but it’s not always the best choice. College enrollment numbers from spring 2021 showed a decline of 3 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. It’s the largest spring semester enrollment decrease since 2011. More often, students are opting to learn technical or skilled trades, transition directly into the workforce or join the military. Others who want more time to consider which career path best ...

Kids, parents need holiday break for mental health

December 26, 2021

As an elementary school counselor, I believe the holiday break couldn’t come at a better time. We have finished one of the most challenging semesters, thanks to all the issues related to COVID-19. Since the pandemic began in early 2020, school counselors have noted students feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, relieved, worried, anxious and now thrilled for a break from the routine of a typical school day and night. These young students are excellent observers of their world, but they aren’t always the best at interpreting their world. Especially with young children — and sometimes ...

What a ‘drug czar’ can do to end crisis

December 19, 2021

The United States has a new “Drug Czar.” Last month, Dr. Rahul Gupta was sworn in as the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), following his Senate confirmation in October. His installation comes amid soaring drug-related deaths across the country — a number that surpassed the dark milestone of 100,000 deaths in the previous calendar year, according to provisional data released Nov. 17 by the Centers for Disease Control, driven almost entirely by increasing prevalence of illicit fentanyl and its analogs. Even more alarming: data showing ...