The Marathon Man, HDH turns 100, and other Fun Numbers

1,392 and running

Let's begin this week with a well-deserved word or two of thanks to our good friend Charleene Tarr.

On Good Friday, Charleene brought the story of "Johnny Marathon" to our attention. On Easter Sunday, we were able to put together a story about marathoner Johnny Clemons, a 1996 Hillsboro High School graduate and a member of the Run Now Relay Team.

The relay team consists of 26 long-distance runners from Tennessee, who ran from Cleveland, Tenn. to Boston, Mass., some 1,000 miles, in order to reach Monday's 118th Boston Marathon.

The runners did this in honor of and support for the victims of last year's terrorist attacks at the Boston Marathon.

Clemons (nicknamed Johnny Marathon) not only ran his share of the 1,000-mile relay, but he also ran in the Boston Marathon for the third time.

He finished 1,392nd. That's not important, really.

What is much more important, Clemons and his teammates on The Run Relay Now team have raised $60,000 for Boston Dream Big, which buys sports equipment for inner-city girls, and the One Step Ahead Foundation, a New York State-based group that provides prosthetic limbs to children.

There's more about the team on our website or you can go to http://runnowrelaylive.com.

Again, our thanks to Charleene for informing us of this newsworthy and worthwhile fundraiser by some remarkable athletes.

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100 and counting

• Highland District Hospital will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a special open house from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, May 3.

As part of this community event, there will be tours of the hospital, history displays, and meetings with current and former staff members. Hors d'oeuvres and light refreshments will be served.

According to Melanie Phillips, marketing coordinator at Highland District Hospital, the open house provides an opportunity to "thank the employees and community for aiding HDH in reaching this benchmark.

"Few hospitals are fortunate enough to say that they have served their community for 100 years, and even less are able to say that they are governed by members of their own community. The community has been responsible for building and sustaining the hospital for 100 years. We could not be more proud to say thank you to those who have donated, volunteered, and worked at HDH."

Similarly, Jim Baer, CEO of Highland District Hospital, credits talented, caring and dedicated employees and a team effort toward service excellence with the hospital's ability to achieve some well-deserved recognition.

Highland District Hospital traces its roots to 1839, when Oakland Female Seminary (the first female school in the State of Ohio) was founded on an 18-acre tract of land between U.S. 50 and S.R. 124 in Hillsboro.

In 1914, the hospital opened with three large patient rooms on the east side of the hospital’s first floor. Prior to the opening of the hospital, 36 physicians were practicing medicine in Highland County and much of the care was given in the homes.

Needless to say, a lot has changed in professional health care since the Miracle Boston Braves won the 1914 World Series.

While I do remember being taken to the home of an Adams County physician, Dr. Francis Stevens, for a rather uncomfortable ear infection when I was a kid, I don't think too many doctors in 2014 would readily provide medical services from the home. (The potential legal liabilities alone would prohibit such compassion.)

For the record, all three of our children were born at Highland District Hospital. Their mother has worked there since 1987.

Believe me, we're all fortunate to have our local hospital with a local board of trustees.

Congratulations on your first 100 years.

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6.1 and questioning

• The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported last Friday that the state's unemployment rate was down to 6.1 percent in March, down from 7.3 percent in March 2013.

That's the good news.

Many state politicians up for re-election supposedly were injured by patting themselves on the back for this timely, pre-primary election news.

The bad news, as reported by Olivera Perkins of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, is that only 600 jobs were created statewide.

"Even though Ohio's unemployment rate is lower than that of the U.S., it lags the nation in job growth," George Zeller, an economic research analyst, told The Plain Dealer.

"Ohio's job growth rate between March 2013 and March 2014 was 0.99 percent, Zeller said. The U.S. job growth rate for the same time period was 1.64 percent."

Pardon me for saying so, but haven't Ohio Republicans often criticized the national increase in jobs as being lackluster at best? Yes, they have. (Look in the mirror, boys.)

Moreover, according to Perkins' report, "March 2014 was the 19th consecutive month when Ohio's job growth rate has been below the national average," Zeller said. "Further, the gap between the growth rate in Ohio and in the U.S. widened in March 2014."

One would never know it by reading news releases from the Statehouse and governor's office.

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2 and 2 more

• What's that? I did what?

I wrote last week that The Highland County Press 2014 political endorsements would be announced this week? (What was I thinking?)

Well, if you insist…

But before we go down that path, barring any dramatic last-hour maneuverings, please do not anticipate any HCP endorsements in the Republican primary races for Highland County sheriff or Highland County commissioner.

As of this moment, I am of the opinion that both candidates for sheriff and all four candidates for commissioner are honorable men with noble intentions for public service. Voters are fortunate in both regards. In addition, Democratic candidate for commissioner Randy Mustard, who is unopposed on May 6, is another quality candidate.

So, on to The HCP endorsements for the May 6 GOP primary.

• Two years ago, the only newspaper in Highland County to endorse a Republican challenger to a Republican incumbent representing southern Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives was The Highland County Press.

Two years ago, we endorsed Dr. Brad Wenstrup in his primary race against incumbent Rep. Jean Schmidt. (The fact of the matter is this: We actually endorsed Dr. Wenstrup twice prior to the 2012 primary.)

Since being elected, Congressman Wenstrup has been one of those all-too-rare conservative voices on Capitol Hill.

He has been a constant voice of reason for a smaller, more efficient federal government. He even took a stance on the bloated "Farm Bill" contrary to that of his friend and ours, the Hon. Sen. Rob Portman. That was a gutsy decision; but it also was the right decision. As we said at the time, the Farm Bill had more to do with government handouts than it did with agriculture. (Unless you count the fertilizer.)

A few weeks ago, the Club for Growth released its 2013 Congressional Scorecard, which ranks the voting of members of Congress based on issues relating to limited government and economic growth.

Among the House freshmen who scored a 90 percent or above in 2013 were Congressman Wenstrup. (I was pleased to see that Rep. Tom Cotton of Dardanelle in Yell County, Arkansas also made the cut. Two good men, Brad and Tom.)

The fact that U.S. Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah received perfect scores also was a pleasant reinforcement of rational thought.

For any serious voter who thinks Washington's spending is well beyond its (our) means, Congressman Brad Wenstrup deserves your vote in this election year. He's earned two more years.

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• Just as we endorsed an up-and-coming conservative against a well-known congresswoman two years ago, we're endorsing another up-and-coming conservative for the 91st District of the Ohio House of Representatives.

And, yes, I will grant you that "up-and-coming" most likely is inaccurate in describing Hillsboro resident Barb Cole. Barb is twice the age of her opponent. And then some.

That doesn't matter. (Aside from the crassness of this writer for making an ungentlemanly reference to the candidate's age.)

But if a grandmotherly Democrat candidate is good enough for president in 2016, I will suggest to you that a grandmotherly Republican is more than good enough for the Ohio Statehouse. Besides, haven't we come to realize that with age, comes experience and wisdom? I should think so.

In spite of her wisdom and experience – and charm – Barb Cole is a newcomer to serious politics. She'll most likely lose to her incumbent opponent, and I've told her as much.

At this stage of her life, though, a career in politics is not only improbable, it's also not even a consideration. She doesn't need it.

Which may be the precise reason why the voters in Highland, Clinton, Pike and Ross counties need her.

As Barb says, "Voters have a choice between citizen representatives with new ideas or professional politicians with more spin. We desperately need new ideas, new approaches and new ways to bring in jobs. We need real cooperation and leadership to move ahead."

Barb Cole may shoot me for saying this. (She'll no doubt have to stand in line.) But it's painfully obvious to any intelligent voter that a 70-year-old grandmother is not looking for a lifelong career in politics. She wants to make a difference for her community.

One thing is for certain. If elected, she will not become so enamored with Columbus that she forgets about Highland County. Nor will she take the politically expedient route when the voting gets a little tough.

Without reservation or any entangling alliance whatsoever, and with respect to our readers, The Highland County Press endorses Brad Wenstrup for Congress and Barb Cole for the Ohio House of Representatives.

Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press.