• Rory Ryan 15 April 2013

    Honoring '42'

    Dave Cash, Rennie Stennett and Al Oliver are part of what is believed to be the first all-black starting lineup in Major League Baseball history. On Sept. 1, 1971, the Pittsburgh Pirates' starting lineup was: Rennie Stennett, 2B; Gene Clines, CF; Roberto Clemente, RF; Willie Stargell, LF; Manny Sanguillén, C; Dave Cash, 3B; Al Oliver, 1B; Jackie Hernández, SS; and Dock Ellis, P. It was a formidable lineup, to be sure. If memory serves, that team won the 1971 World Series.
  • Rory Ryan 13 April 2013
    What went wrong?
    One of the common fears is that if a law-abiding citizen, resting casually in his own home, upon being faced with an unexpected intrusion, and takes reasonable measures to defend himself and his family, he may very well be summarily executed having unknowingly and unintentionally fired at a cop who has more than sufficient brothers in arms just waiting to rise to the occasion.
  • Rory Ryan 10 April 2013
    At last, President Obama realizes that he is overpaid
    Far be it from me to criticize any politician who realizes that he is overpaid. Far be it from me to criticize any politician who – upon the realization that he is, in fact, overpaid – offers to return a portion of his inflated salary. That's just not my way to criticize a politician when he's had a "come to Jesus" epiphany.
  • Rory Ryan 8 April 2013
    Pending litigation and the sins of our fathers
    A vast majority of Ohio county recorders – including recently elected Highland County Recorder Chad McConnaughey – find themselves in a civil rights lawsuit; certainly not entirely – if at all – of their own making.
  • Rory Ryan 2 April 2013
    Jobs, bankers, trust and service
    I cannot claim to be hard-working, but I still appreciate that Bill Siddons signed off on our first home mortgage more than a quarter of a century ago. It may have been just another day at the office for Bill, but it sure meant a lot more to us. It always will. Thanks, Bill, for your trust and your friendship. And thank you for your military service. Congratulations on 60 years in the American Legion.
  • Rory Ryan 27 March 2013
    News Flash: Kasich wants to cut taxes!
    Ohio lawmakers: Here's your time to shine. (Or bow down, as Beyoncé would say.) The governor has played the same political game with you that the Republican senators in Congress have played on Obama. You do get that, don't you? He's playing the "It's not my budget, it's your budget" game. Fine. Call his bluff. Take ownership of the damned budget. Earn your pay.
  • Rory Ryan 27 March 2013
    Talkin' baseball, watchin' snow fall (UPDATED)
    Since I'm not enjoying a fried shrimp po' boy at the Hogfish Bar and Grill – where it's just a tad warmer than it is here, and since Monday is Opening Day, and since Baseball is America's pastime, and since I'm under the proverbial weather with a case of Spring Fever or the Blue Flu or Who Hit John, let's talk baseball.
  • Rory Ryan 19 March 2013
    Final Four selections
    We do not need presidents who can pick top seeds like Louisville or Gonzaga in a basketball pool. We need presidents who are presidential, with more than a passing knowledge of national defense, world economies and international affairs. Once upon a time, we had such men in the Oval office. Today, sadly, we do not.
  • Rory Ryan 17 March 2013
    In search of Conservatism instead of Liberal-lite
    To borrow a phrase from William F. Buckley's brother-in-law and Media Research Center President Brent Bozell, while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend, "This is not conservatism. It is, literally, Democrat Lite." We might as well get used to it, too.
  • Rory Ryan 10 March 2013
    Community support crucial for annual HCSCA telethon
    Through its first 40 years, the telethon has raised $2,972,581. An hour or two into the March 27 telethon, Rotarians and community contributors will pause for a moment, as the total raised will surpass the $3 million mark. Each and every year, the good people of Highland County do something that is both amazing and difficult to fully comprehend.
  • Rory Ryan 10 March 2013
    Community support crucial for annual HCSCA telethon
    Through its first 40 years, the telethon has raised $2,972,581. An hour or two into the March 27 telethon, Rotarians and community contributors will pause for a moment, as the total raised will surpass the $3 million mark. Each and every year, the good people of Highland County do something that is both amazing and difficult to fully comprehend.
  • Rory Ryan 6 March 2013
    Will Ohio GOP stand up to its tax-and-spend governor?
    What ought to be of real concern for Republican lawmakers – at least those who claim to be among the party of fiscal responsibility – are the significant tax increases in Gov. Kasich’s $64 billion budget – a budget that increases spending by 23 percent over former Gov. Ted Strickland's $52 billion budget just five years ago.
  • Rory Ryan 4 March 2013
    This is going to be one of 'those' columns...
    John Belushi warned us. This just in: Swarms of locusts are devouring crops across Egypt. The timing doesn't help, either. Sure glad I gave up cicadas for Lent.
  • Rory Ryan 25 February 2013
    Random acts of kindness
    This past weekend, I received a wonderful note and a stained-glass vase from Abby Robinson. While I rarely accept gifts of any kind, I am making an exception this time. And since I am no longer a member of the Southern State Community College Board of Trustees, I will not have to reference it on my 2012 financial disclosure statement to the Ohio Ethics Commission. How about that!
  • Rory Ryan 24 February 2013
    The hardest-working newspaperman
    In terms of overall qualifications – from editorial decision-making, to advertising and marketing, to pre-press and composition, to the finished press run, to circulation and distribution, Clarence Graham of Wilmington was among the best of the best. Those who worked with Clarence were all the better for that experience.
  • Rory Ryan 17 February 2013
    Kasich fails to stand on principle
    'Kasich has joined the dishonor roll of Republican leaders backing an expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The governor has allowed himself to be bought off by the false promise of free money from the federal government.'
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