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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2021
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Faith Ranch going into 50th year — and winter
DeWine signs new Congressional map for Ohio COLUMBUS—On Saturday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 258, which establishes congressional maps for Ohio. DeWine issued the following statement: “Today [Saturday, Nov. 20], I have signed Senate Bill 258, which establishes new congressional districts following the 2020 census. “When compared to the other proposals offered from House and Senate caucuses, both Republican and Democrat, the map in SB 258 makes the most progress to produce a fair, compact, and competitive map. The SB 258 map has fewer county splits and city splits than these recent proposals and the current congressional map. The SB 258 map keeps Lucas and Stark counties, as well as the Mahoning Valley, whole within single congressional districts for the first time in
decades, and also keeps the cities of Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, and Toledo all whole within the same congressional map for the first time since the 1840s. With seven competitive congressional districts in the SB 258 map, this map significantly increases the number of competitive districts versus the current map.” After the results of the 2020 Census, Ohio was left with one less Congressional seat. The redistricting reduces the state’s congressional zones from 16 to 15. However, according to the election-centric website Ballotopedia, the redistribution will only cover four years since the map “did not meet the required threshold of bipartisan support in the legislature. The map will be in effect for the 2020 Congressional elections, though.
Photo by Faith Ranch
BY REBECCA BRATTEN WEISS Harrison News-Herald Reporting Journalist Throughout the year, guests travel to Faith Ranch to enjoy trail rides, summer camp, riding lessons, and weekend retreats. A visitor to the ranch during the summer can expect to see families heading out onto the trails on horseback, teens taking riding lessons in the arena, groups coming back from hayrides, cattle grazing on the hillsides, and even peacocks displaying their tail feathers on the ranch house roof. Now, headed into the winter months, the stable and farm workers may have less to do leading trail rides or facilitating activities, but the work doesn’t go away. Preparing a herd of over 80 horses to stay happy, healthy, and safe through a long Ohio winter might sound like a daunting task, but for Faith Ranch staff, it’s just ordinary life. And the property they’re working on is seemingly perfectly equipped for it. The 4,000-acre ranch camp and retreat center located near Jewett, which has been in operation for nearly 50 years, is blessed with hundreds of acres of pasture, numerous natural springs, and about 170 acres of hay fields. Out on this idyllic slice of wilderness, the horses enjoy the best of both worlds: ranging in a herd out in nature, getting any extra care they need (like routine hoof-trimming from the farrier), and even an annual visit from the equine dentist. Older horses with dental issues, or other horses who need specialized care, may be kept in and given senior feed, stable coordinator Linda Maxwell said. Generally, though, the horses choose to be out in the open with the herd when given a choice. “Horses are healthier outside,” Maxwell shared. “God created them to be out moving around, eating 24/7. They’re not locked in a barn with ammonia and mold and dust. Because they’re moving, it’s better for their guts.” Unlike cattle, horses are not ruminants. Their delicately calibrated digestive systems require clean, good-quality forage and function better when food is consumed steadily in small amounts. Upsets to the equine digestive system, known generically as colic, can range from the annoying to the lethal. Many horse owners dread the onset of cold weather because
of the risk of “winter colic” due to decreased water intake and limited mobility. “We’ve never had it,” Maxwell said. Because the horses at Faith Ranch are allowed to live as naturally as possible — moving around and foraging throughout the day and night — it can mitigate certain risks. There are other dangers inevitably associated with winter weather, however. Staff must watch out for injuries from slips or falls when the ground gets icy. They routinely check to be sure water troughs haven’t frozen. And they keep an eye on fences, especially after ice, snow, or wind storms cause trees and branches to fall. The Faith Ranch staff also are busy caring for their herd of over 40 Black Angus cattle. Most of the horses and all the cattle were able to graze on out in the pastures throughout the spring and summer, but when the temperatures drop and the grass goes dormant and stops growing, the herds need constant access to hay. Beside feeding 80 horses and 40 cattle throughout the colder months, the ranch workers must also keep good, quality hay available for the 25 horses that have to be kept on a dry lot. These are the horses that, due to genetics or breed, must be kept off the rich grass that can bring on laminitis (sometimes termed “founder”) — a painful inflammation of the soft tissue in the hoof. “It’s to protect their feet from becoming permanently lame,” Maxwell explained. How much hay does it take to keep all these animals well-fed, some of them yearround? Farming assistant Ian Wise shared that they made approximately 1,250 round bales of hay this year through three cuttings. Getting the hay out to the herds in fall and winter can sometimes be a challenge when the ground is muddy or slippery, but they’ve been working on prepping dry pads for feeding the cattle, so the tractors don’t get bogged down in mud. Keeping the herds healthy throughout the winter may not be as arduous in Ohio as it is in some colder states out west, but there’s still plenty to keep everyone busy. And when it’s calving season, the ranch staff have to keep an eye out for coyotes, which have become more numerous in the area in the past decade. Because coyotes are not native to Ohio, they See FAITH RANCH Pg.- 5
MARTIAL ARTS
Ohio Congressional maps: 2020 vs. 2022
Governor DeWine signed off on the new Congressional map for the 2022 Election, illustrated on the right map. The older map (left) — used from 2012 through 2020 — will no longer be in effect. According to FiveThirtyEight, the redistricting resulted in the losses of one Republicanleaning seat and one Democratic-leaning seat, with the addition of one “highly competitive seat.” Overall, Ohio’s new map will now feature two Democratic-leaning seats, 11 Republicanleaning seats, and two highly competitive seats. Major redistricting changes include Youngstown being consolidated into Harrison County’s 6th District, the 9th and 5th Districts were redistributed more longitudinally, and Newark, Lancaster, and Ohio University’s Athens County were all added into the new District 12. District 10 was reworked to include both Dayton and Springfield in the new map. The patchy map of Columbus’ District 3 reduced its sprawl and reallocated it among Districts 4, 12, and 15. The no-longer-existent District 16 was spread out among the new versions of Districts 7, 13, and 14. (Maps by Dave’s Redistricting)
Health officials urge vaccination as COVID cases rise again BY REBECCA BRATTEN WEISS Harrison News-Herald Reporting Journalist HARRISON COUNTY—COVID-19 cases in Harrison County are on the rise again, health administrator Garen Rhome reported. The county saw 58 cases in the past seven days, 20% more cases than the seven-day period before that. “For a county of 15,000, that’s a lot,” Rhome said. Case rate, he explained, is measured per county by a ratio of 1 to 100,000. That allows the health community to compare rates of transmission in various areas despite population differences. In Harrison County, the present case rate is 385 out of 100,000 — nearly four times what the CDC considers a high transmission rate. Rhome and other health officials are continuing to urge people to seek vaccination — whether the first dose, the second, or a booster. Everyone 18 and older is eligible for all three doses. “For nearly the entirety of 2021, getting vaccinated has been the main tool in our toolkit,” Rhome said. There are many reasons to seek vaccination.
27 YEARS LATER
NUTCRACKER
Aside from concerns for the well-being of the community and the responsibility to slow the spread, there are also personal benefits, such as not missing school or work. “Just a mild case can really be a detriment to your life,” Rhome said. Harrison County is presently about 39% vaccinated. The demographic with the highest vaccination rate is the 70- to 74-year-olds, 80% of whom are fully vaccinated. Of the next age group, 65- to 69-year-olds, 74% are vaccinated. Vaccination rates among younger residents are lower, however, possibly because they feel they are less at risk. “If the cases are down, it’s easy to say, ‘Oh, we don’t have to get vaccinated,’” Rhome pointed out. Some people also assume that if they contracted COVID-19, they are automatically immune. It doesn’t work like that, Rhome explained. If one has had the virus, it will convey some immunity, but you won’t know how much because you won’t know your viral load or how effectively your body responded. With the vaccine, by contrast, “we have a reasonable expectation of the body’s immune response.”
OBITUARIES Charles L. Ledger Twila Mercer
USPS Publication No. 236-080 One Section, 12 Pages Vol. 54, No. 26
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Vicki Snyder