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As rent pressures increase, lawmakers must focus

Editorials

Affordable housing remains a challenge for Ohioans — and that challenge only grows as rent puts a greater strain on an increasing number of households. According to the 2026 Gap Report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, there are 422,098 extremely low-income renters in the state, and 73% of those report spending more than half their income on rent. That is an increase from 66% only five years ago. “For people at the bottom of the pay scale, rent is gobbling up most of their paychecks. But this report shows the ...

Liberty or bondage: The choice we all face

Local Columns

If you listen carefully to people today, you will often hear the same feeling expressed in different ways. “I feel stuck.” “I wish my life was different.” “I’m trying to find peace.” Some feel trapped by stress, guilt, addiction, anger, or broken relationships. Others feel trapped by religion itself. At some point they tried church, but it felt empty or full of rules, and they quietly drifted away. But the message of Jesus Christ was never meant to bring people into bondage. It was meant to bring them into freedom. The Bible says, “Stand fast therefore in the ...

A good word for this chaotic time

Local Columns

Words are vitally important. Sometimes one word or the wrong word can be disastrous. In the financial world, one wrong sell order sold 610,000 shares at 1 yen vs. 1 share at 610,000 yen, creating a massive loss. During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese propaganda broadcaster Hanoi Hannah used words Americans might mishear. American soldiers misheard her saying their units had been “eliminated” when she said “evacuated.” The Bible often talks about “words.” Scripture states, “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will ...

Office services available at the Juniata County Library

Local Columns

Note: the Juniata County Library’s Board of Trustees meeting has moved from the first Monday of the month to the second Monday of the month. Their meetings are open to the public, held in the Virginia Swartz Community Room at 7 p.m. Do you need to fax something or make a copy? I don’t know of anywhere else in the area that offers a fax machine. Come to the Juniata County Library. Here is a rundown of the many office services we offer: Faxing: $1.25 per page. We can send or receive a fax on your behalf. Copying: 35¢ per side in black and white or $1 per page in color. ...

More renovations at MCL

Local Columns

By now, you probably know that Mifflin County Library is undergoing additional renovations. To say I’m thrilled is an understatement. I am very grateful to the county commissioners for valuing library service to Mifflin County and for valuing the work that we do. Because winter was so cold and so long, construction didn’t begin until mid-February. But once it started, it started in earnest. If you drive along North Wayne Street, you will see fencing and erosion control logs. Trees and shrugs have been removed as well as the top soil. The goal is to save this top soil for a later ...

Free nations must have capacity to defend freedom

Editorials

We agree with several points our U.S. Senator, Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, made in a recent column. After observing the historical importance of the U.S. relationship with our European allies, McCormick wrote that the bond of NATO remains, “but, Secretary Rubio warned, it has grown weaker as our allies have pursued policies of managed decline. They have crippled their productive capacity with so-called ‘green energy’ policies, allowed deindustrialization to neuter their defense capabilities and neglected the very fabric of their own societies through mass, uncontrolled ...