- Cathy Klein. Music Boosters for Southeast Pirates will be holding a Night at the Races fundraiser at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, to be held at the Immaculate Conception Parish at 409 W. Main St., Ravenna.
- Julie Watson. Since February is the month when we celebrate Groundhog Day, I thought I’d write my column about squirrels. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Is she off her nut?
- Jackie Loreta-Rinearson. The Sip n Shop on Main Street committee is busy preparing for this year’s event, which is set for July 25. The event runs from 2 to 7 p.m.
- Sally Kelly. When is it time to give up living at home alone? A national organization suggests that you look at yourself (or a friend or family member) in terms of these four things which are happening or changing in your life.
- Master Gardener Volunteers. On any random winter day, when our Portage County, Ohio, yards are frozen and barren, I pour my first cup of coffee and prepare myself for the hidden gems ready to fly down from the trees above. I am aware my yard has been awake and alive since daybreak. I’ve learned the birds’ rhythms and routines over time; my yard has become a safe space for them.
- Op-Ed Contributor. Now that we’ve dug out from the latest snowstorm that barreled through the county, long-range weather forecasts suggest temperatures may finally climb above freezing next week.
- Angie Reedy. The 39th annual Celebration of Lights was held in December at the University Hospitals Portage Medical Center in Ravenna, hosted by the hospital’s Auxiliary. It was a successful evening and the committee wants to thank everyone who came, donated money or helped in any way for their participation, and especially Shorts-Spicer-Crislip Funeral Homes for its sponsorship.
- Shirley Mars. Ben Wolford’s thoughtful comments about “values that we should be able to agree on” reminded me of why I allowed him to talk me into reviving the Around Brimfield column a few years ago. Freedom, safety, respect, dignity, decency, diversity and seeing others as neighbors – I share those values and find comfort in knowing that most of The Portager readers share them as well. If we are to “hold the line” as Ben suggests, we cannot be complacent or naïve.
- Ruth Ann Bartholomew. The Portage County Farm Bureau recently honored Dale Nething with its Distinguished Service Award. Dale and his son, Don, are co-owners of Maplecrest Farms on Knapp Road.
- Laura Nethken. I try not to pay any attention to the commercials on TV. When they come on, that's my cue to leave my puzzle alone and go knock something off my to-do list. I say I "try" because lately a half-hearted attempt is all I've been able to accomplish. One, the volume alone makes it difficult to ignore them completely.
- Ben Wolford. We don’t cover news outside of Portage County. That’s a business decision as much as an ideological commitment to focusing on the local.
- Simon Varner. Do you remember going to grandma’s house for a family dinner? The way it smelled, the way the adults chatted while you and the other kids laughed in front of a TV playing colorful cartoons. Most importantly, do you remember the food? I remember, and Mandy Yannucci, co-owner of Maddalena’s in Kent, remembers, too.
- Master Gardener Volunteers. Our family is known for keeping our home fairly cool during the winter months. We say that it’s healthier, but really, it’s to lower our heating bills.
- Kathy Baker. An amaryllis plant stands tall on my kitchen counter. I wonder if it has any idea how beautiful it is. At first, it was simply a nondescript, brown knob. Then, seemingly overnight, it became a tall, green stalk. Little by little, a perfect flower appeared. Soon, I thought, it will shrivel and die, as plants do. But that’s not what happened.
- Julie Watson. Cardinals, also known as red birds, are very common throughout Portage County and the Eastern United States. Their estimated population across North America is 100 -130 million strong.
- Mary Louise Ruehr. Their names are familiar, for completely different reasons, and their life stories, luckily for us, make for good reading.
- Master Gardener Volunteers. What is winter sowing, you ask? Winter sowing is the way many plants perpetuate themselves. They grow from seeds, make flowers, set new seeds, then, in the fall, disperse their new seeds by gravity, wind, water, birds, or small mammals to sprout again, somewhere, next spring.
- Sally Kelly. It is a new year, and for some of us (maybe for all of us) we have high hopes for a better life this year: Cheaper prices, fewer deaths for friends and family, and healthier, safer lives for ourselves.