Opinion

In the wake of last week’s 2024 Ohio Chamber Housing Summit, we continue to focus on the issue of housing for all Ohioans. Every Ohioan should have access to safe, affordable housing, and this goal can only be accomplished if we work together.

I am writing to emphasize the vital importance of our local Black history, and the significant impact it has on our community and nation. The upcoming dramatic presentation by the Community Arts Network, bringing to life the story of Camp Delaware during Black History month 2024, is an endeavor of utmost value and relevance.

As we learned at the informative “Intel on Intel” seminar sponsored by the Sunbury Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 24, burying our collective heads in the sand is not the way to address this opportunity that Intel and associated businesses will bring to this area. As a small farmer, I know there are concerns about protecting our agriculture and rural areas. Still, as a businessperson and supporter of private property rights, I know there will be opportunities that we just can’t afford to ignore.

Our political thinking is not only polarized — it’s growing. We mostly only listen to those who share our opinions. We talk primarily with those who reinforce our prejudices. Honest political dialogue becomes nearly impossible.

In the Dec. 27 issue of The Gazette, Ohio’s sanctimonious Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown prattled on about his efforts to protect Ohio from fentanyl trafficking.

After months of pressure, the IRS has agreed to again delay the implementation of new, burdensome rules that increase tax paperwork for Ohio’s smallest businesses and entrepreneurs.

It is my task and opportunity to write these few lines at the time of the year we call Advent. In some traditions, the four Sundays before Christmas are dedicated one each to the following themes: hope, peace, joy and love. There is some variation in the order, but for the purpose of this writing, the first is the candle of hope. The birth of Jesus means that the faithful are to be a people of hope.

Sunday as I put my daughter to bed, I looked at her and pondered the fact that she will enter a school system that is overcrowded and underfunded. It’s not her fault she is being born in Delaware, Ohio, and entering this school system. I look to her future and what is to come and start to cringe at the fact that overcrowding of the school system could have been prevented by our city council and their decisions.

The last time we visited El Salvador we invited a pastor friend of ours who has a healing ministry. I contacted several churches in El Salvador to arrange a week worth of meetings. Some days we had two services, but mostly the services were in the evening.

I read Scott Tiede’s column of Nov. 11 (‘Younger generation taught things that aren’t true’), and I’d like to offer a few thoughts of my own on some of the matters he spoke about. I’ve known Scott for several years and consider him a friend. We occasionally have coffee together and discuss things both religious and political, and although our worldviews frequently diverge, I am always delighted when we share time together.