Americans take great pride in our country and our freedom. We appreciate a country that continues to allow us to be a God-fearing nation united for the very purpose of being free, to do what be believe in and to pray in our selective faith in and out of the public view.

In addition to the right to bear arms, for those who choose to do so, the simple right to write or speak.

Many a man and woman have stayed that faith since America’s inception. Presidents like Lincoln and Kennedy paid the ultimate sacrifice while in the line of duty to his country and fellow man. They left us with a legacy of serving.

Yet the unheard men and women we never see or hear of as a public official go by unnoticed. They are the real backbone of our nation, working their entire lives for the betterment of all.

A Mother Teresa or Billy Graham-type living a life of obscurity, maybe in our own soup kitchens on Christmas or Thanksgiving or on the battlegrounds of Third World countries.

In the USA, statistics prove one in five Americans go to bed hungry. May all our prayers be with the countless unsung heroes and be blessed by God Almighty as he even knows every hair on their heads.

 

Duke Sheridan

Ironton

 

Ohio destructive to state’s

protected wilderness areas

The Ohio Division of Natural Resources Division of Forestry spent several days in June maintaining the bridle trails of the Shawnee Wilderness area in Shawnee State Forest using mechanized equipment for the first time in 26 years.

While legal because of a 2012 law change, this is an outrageous violation of the integrity of Ohio’s only state wilderness. It also violates the public trust to protect wilderness differently from the rest of the state forest, demonstrating a basic lack of understanding and respect.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Federal Wilderness Act. Ohio has celebrated with destructive actions in its wilderness.

Shame on Ohio.

 

Barbara A. Lund

Member of Save our Shawnee Forest, Keep Shawnee Wild

Lynx, Ohio