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Our opinion: Aid effort failing some students

Remember the struggle last academic year as students and their families across the country struggled to figure out the new “simplified” Free Application for Federal Student Aid? Well, the U.S. Department of Education is at it again, this time announcing a phased rollout for the 2025-26 form. That means it will be available to some students on Oct. 1, but not to everyone until Dec. 1. And that means some families likely will be dealing with delays and other issues as the college decision day nears. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, the phased roll-out is an ...

Our opinion: Project’s end brings clean slate

Monday’s City Council meeting opened with a surprising announcement - Hudson Group is not moving forward with a senior housing project on Liberty Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. The decision brings an end to a matter that had dominated council meetings in recent months and prompted a federal lawsuit against the city and state over approvals for the project. That lawsuit will now end, as does years of back-and-forth squabbling over a project that in 2017 was seen as a key piece of Warren’s downtown redevelopment and, by 2024, had become a topic people were tired of hearing about. ...

Our opinion: Housing remains a dire need

Warren has quietly, thanks to the leadership of Tom Pierotti, become a welcoming place for Ukranian refugees displaced by the Russian invasion of their home country. The families owe Pierotti and his fellow volunteers at First Lutheran Church a debt of gratitude for their work to help open the community’s doors. Some refugees have stayed, others have moved on to places where there is more opportunity for work or to be closer to family members who have also made the trip to the United States. It’s a heartwarming story - and one with a bit of a lesson for policy makers who are ...

Our opinion: Fighting trouble drug problem

The Warren County Drug Task Force has been busier than normal this year. From January through June, the task force has made 41 arrests while seizing 3.625 pounds of methamphetamine, 49.5 grams of cocaine and 183 grams of fentanyl. This year’s arrests have included the seizure of 16 firearms, an automatic firearm and an explosive device. Those numbers are the very definition of a good news, bad news situation. Police are doing yeomanlike work trying to keep illegal drugs and weapons out of our county’s neighborhoods. The shift from bath sales and heroin to fentanyl and ...

Our opinion: Creating new sources of pride

It’s a point of pride for small schools like Eisenhower and Youngsville to have their own marching bands. And the students should be proud of their efforts. Participating in the marching band is a time-consuming endeavor for both students and their parents involving hour after hour of practice to master their instrument, let alone march in formation while performing. We’re sure there is apprehension from students as Warren County School District officials debate, once again, possible school closures. Among options being discussed now are moving ninth through 12th grades at ...

Our opinion: Embrace the healing of holidays

Although much of the national attention is ­– and will continue to be — focused on developments related to the Nov. 5 presidential election, the world beyond the political front is far from being in slumber mode. For example, on the retail front, merchants are not sitting back, intent on waiting until after Halloween to make important decisions associated with the busy Christmas shopping season. Many merchants already are “knee deep” in planning for the products with which their shelves will be stocked in the weeks leading up to Dec. 25. Also on their mind and capturing ...