Ohio
When it comes to ‘Most Hospitable’ in Ohio, WorldAtlas picks these three nearby towns
Tis The Season
A visit to Ohio’s largest year round Christmas store, located in Berlin, OH.
WorldAtlas.com has ranked the nine Most Hospitable Towns in Ohio, and three of them are just around the corner.
Making the list are Millersburg (Holmes County), Sugarcreek and Mansfield.
Millersburg (Holmes County) was chosen for its Amish heritage and close-knit community ties, according to WorldAtlas.com. Mansfield was picked for its family-friendly attractions and Kingwood Center Gardens and Sugarcreek’s lure is its Swiss heritage and unique culture.
WorldAtlas.com is an online educational website the specializes in geography and related topics. It offers content including maps, articles and data, covering areas such as geography, sociology, demography, environment, economics, politics and travel. The site, which offers fact-checking, aims to provide accurate information, serving as a resource for educators and students.
Millersburg (Holmes County) noted for ‘practical activities’
The Millersburg and Holmes County community hosts friendly residents who lead a simple life, according to WorldAtlas, which notes Yoder’s Amish Home provides a feel for everyday Amish life through barn visits, buggy rides and other practical activities. Hershberg’s Farm and Bakery entices newcomers with delicious baked goods and similar Amish treats, including pies, jellies, and jams.
Visitors also can shop for antiques and handcrafts while interacting with receptive shopowners. The site also mentions the county’s festivals.
Mansfield highlighted for Kingwood Gardens, block party
Mansfield has an impressive spectrum of family-friendly attractions, according to WorldAtlas, which lists the 47-acre Kingwood Center Gardens as a notable greenspace with its colorful blend of flowers, herbs and shrubs The Renaissance Theatre treats guests to live performances in a 1,400-seater venue, known for hosting singing, acting, and dancing shows.
The town organizes several events throughout the year, with the Peace on My Block Party bringing families together. The fun festival aims to stop bullying and violence in the community through peaceful interactions and entertainment for kids of all ages, the website notes.
Sugarcreek, a gem in Amish Country
Sugarcreek is known for its Swiss heritage and neighborly residents, according to WorldAtlis. Tourist visit to explore its unique culture at the Alpine Hills Historical Museum and Information Center. The center showcases rare exhibits depicting a unique combination of Amish and Swiss heritage The Dutch Valley Restaurant welcomes guests to try its rich traditional cuisine, featuring Amish-style.
The annual Ohio Swiss Festival is a great time to join the community in celebrating its Swiss heritage through a variety of traditional activities, says the website.
Other areas listed in the Top 9 Most Hospital Towns in Ohio are Twinsburg, Circleville, Marietta, Geneva-On-The-Lake, Sandusky and Waynesburg.
GIRARD, Ohio (WKBN) – Over 100 athletes came together for the 5th Annual Trumbull County Special Olympics Invitational Saturday morning in Girard.
These athletes represent five different schools across Trumbull County to compete and spread the message of inclusion, achievement, and sportsmanship.
The Invitational continued its long-standing tradition of honoring the legacy of Randy Suchanek while celebrating the dedication and accomplishments of Special Olympics athletes throughout the region.
“You can hear all the excitement for this, for the athletes that are here today,” said superintendent Bryan O’Hara. “They work hard all year long to participate. We’ve always worked hand in hand with the rotary to get this accomplished is a lot of work behind the scenes.”
Participating schools included Ashtabula, Geauga, Columbiana, Kent-Portage and Trumbull Fairhaven
“There’s a lot of nice participation from girard students as you see behind us, and a lot of participation from the community helping out,” Girard-Liberty Rotary co-president Andy Kish added.
O’Hara added that the event keeps everything in perspective, seeing the athletes compete in the spirit of fun, along with the courage and determination that they show.
Alex Sorrells contributed to this report.
Out of prison, Indiana’s caviar king back on Ohio River to find fishing holes taken
David Cox, of English, Indiana, says once he began setting his nets again after a two-year prison sentence and a three-year ban on commercial fishing, all of his once-secret spots were taken.
Can you eat fish from the Ohio River?
In 1975, future presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, then governor of Massachusetts, bet 20 pounds of New England cod that the Red Sox would defeat the Reds in the World Series. If things went south for Boston, Ohio governor James Rhodes promised to send Dukakis 10 pounds of Lake Erie perch and 10 pounds of Ohio River catfish. The Reds ended up winning and the cod was sent to the Convalescent Home for Children, in Cincinnati.
At the time, people were still eating catfish from the Ohio without too much concern. The fish were also served at several restaurants along the river.
There were warnings in 1977
But two years later, in 1977, The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission released the results of a study of contaminants found in the tissues of Ohio River fish. They warned anglers in cities such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, Wheeling and Gallipolis that man-made chemicals known as PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, had been discovered in the river fish. Later, high concentrations of mercury were discovered in the fish, too.
Thanks to the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the environmental regulations that followed, the river is now cleaner than it was in the seventies. And it’s still teeming with a variety of fish, including catfish, striped bass, drum and black bass, among other species.
But even though PCBs were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979, they are still found in fish, since they remain in the sediment in the bottom of the river. “Organisms live in the sediment and fish feed on them,” Rich Cogen, the executive director of the Ohio River Foundation told The Enquirer. Mercury is also a big problem, according to Cogen.
So the question is: Can you eat fish caught in the Ohio River?
The short answer is yes. But it depends on what species you are eating and where along the river you caught it.
There are also very strict limitations on how frequently you should eat them, according to the web site for the Ohio Sport Fish Consumption Advisory, part of the Ohio Department of Health.
In areas of the river between the Belleville Lock, located 204 miles downstream from the river’s origins in Pittsburgh, to the Indiana border, the advisory agency currently recommends consuming Ohio River fish no more than once a month max. That area includes Adams, Brown, Clermont, Gallia, Hamilton, Lawrence, Meigs and Scioto counties.
Here’s where to check
Recommendations change throughout the year, but you can keep up by visiting the Ohio Department of Health’s Sport Fish Consumption Advisory page, which provides updated information on when certain fish, usually bottom feeders such as carp, are deemed too dangerous to eat at all.
Here’s who should take a pass on Ohio River fish
The agency also warns that people who are more likely to have health effects from eating contaminated fish, includingchildren younger than 15 years old, pregnant women and women who are planning to become pregnant to avoid Ohio River fish altogether.
Just because you have to limit the amount of fish you eat, doesn’t mean the river is a bad place for fishing, as long as you limit your intake or do catch-and-release fishing. Just make sure you have a proper fishing license before casting your line.
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It isn’t over until it’s over. That’s the case for both the UCLA Bruins football program recruiting and for quarterback Brady Edmunds. Edmunds is currently committed to head to Ohio State but he took a visit from UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy earlier this week.
Kennedy met Edmunds on Thursday despite the fact that the quarterback has been committed to the Buckeyes since December of 2024 but could the UCLA Bruins be making a run at flipping the quarterback?
Edmunds has only had an official visit with Ohio State but could UCLA heave a heat check on the 6’5” quarterback? New UCLA head coach Bob Chesney is off to an unbelievable start to his recruiting with the Bruins and flipping a recruit of Edmunds’ caliber would be his most impressive move yet.
247 Sports has Edmunds as the No. 16 quarterback in the class, which would give UCLA a clear predecessor for Nico Iamaleava whenever the Bruins current starting quarterback decides to head to the professional level.
It’d be a full circle moment for the Bruins, as Edmunds was originally recruited to Ohio State by former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, who bailed on UCLA to go run the Buckeyes offense. Ohio State is a great spot for a developing quarterback, as the Buckeyes produce tons of NFL talent, especially at the wide receiver position, which would help Edmunds put up some gaudy numbers in Columbus.
Chesney and the Bruins have geography on their side, Edmunds attends Huntington Beach High School in Southern California, which could potentially become a factor if Edmunds views UCLA as a program on the rise that’d be much closer to his friends and family than out in Ohio.
Time will tell if Kennedy’s visit will make a difference but UCLA’s recruiting has made waves in the first offseason under Chesney and the new regime.
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