opinion

Baker: The key to happiness? Thanksgiving

- Kathy Baker

You’re about to receive a thanksgiving gift.  No, I didn’t forget to capitalize the “t” in “thanksgiving.”  This gift has nothing to do with turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie or spending a day with your favorite (or not-so-favorite) relatives. The gift being offered to you, by several authors and philosophers, including myself, is even better than that.  In fact, it’s priceless.

Op-ed: Listen to our program about solving hunger in Portage County

- Op-Ed Contributor

Food is a basic human need. Yet here in Portage County, many neighbors still struggle to keep their pantries full. We’ve all seen the food drives and we’ve all read the statistics, but numbers alone can feel abstract. We wanted to meet the people doing the work— and understand what it actually takes to relieve hunger in our own backyard.

Letter to the editor: Another rebuttal to letter on the firing of Mantua Police Chief

- Letter to the editor

Regarding the recent letter supporting the termination of former Mantua Police Chief Joe Urso, several of the stated claims are factually incorrect and contradicted by publicly available records, state administrative rules, and Mantua’s own documented history. For the sake of accuracy and community understanding, I want to clarify the record.

Around Randolph: Waterloo agriculture students excited for the future of farming

- Sandy Engle

Nov. 9-15 was Ohio Soil Health Week, and throughout Ohio there were events to honor the soil. Surprisingly, within a spoonful of soil there are more living organisms than there are people currently on this planet. As we enter this season of delicious festivities, may we be grateful to the farmers and soil microbes which make our food nutritious and tasty.

Letter to the editor: The fallout of Streetsboro school levy failure

- Letter to the editor

When you break the news that the school levy failed to your 17 year old daughter & the tears fall. You try to lessen the blow by reminding her she will be in college next year & won’t feel the cuts that will be necessary. Her response is “I’m not sad for me but for all the other kids”.  When she asks what more could we have done? “We worked so hard.”

One for the Books: Let’s Hear it for Librarians

- Mary Louise Ruehr

They’re teachers, they’re advisers, they’re know-it-alls. They’re a veritable fountain of information. They’re trained to know what you want to read and where to find what you want to know. They’re our librarians. Here are three novels I enjoyed recently that feature librarians, as well as a must-read nonfiction account of what it’s like to stand up to censorship.

Ohio Outdoors: “T” is for turkey

- Julie Watson

It’s November, the month of Thanksgiving. Here, in America, no other animal is more closely associated with November than the turkey. According to the US Poultry and Egg Association 46 million turkeys will give their lives to the holiday this year.

Rooted Ramblings: The benefits of native shrubs

- Master Gardener Volunteers

Would you like to add beauty and restore environmental function to your landscape? Native shrubs are a great place to start. Their extensive root systems reduce storm water runoff and soil erosion while also providing critical habitat for wildlife. Fortunately, many homeowners have already developed a consciousness about the need to add native plants to their landscape.

Letter to the editor: The challenge of eating clean on SNAP

- Letter to the editor

Editor’s note: The Portager publishes letters to the editor from the community. The opinions expressed are published not because they necessarily reflect those of the publication but because we feel they contribute meaningfully to the local discourse on matters of public interest. I am a severely ill, disabled person. I live in subsidized housing; I get the Social Security Disability benefits I worked for over the course of 30 years; I have Medicare and Medicaid for the disabled; and I […]