Letters

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Scouting is approaching its 116th anniversary since our founding in England in 1907 and this past February 8 was the 113th birthday of the Boy Scouts of America. The founder of Scouting, Lord Baden Powell, called Scouting a game with a purpose.   

The founding of Scouting was somewhat of an accident.  While Lord Baden Powell was a General for the British Army prior to the turn of the century, serving during wars in Africa and India, he wrote a book for military scouts called Aids to Scouting.  Much to his surprise when he returned to England, adolescent boys were acquiring his book that he had written for adults. 

On his return from Africa in 1903, Baden-Powell found his military training manual, Aids to Scouting, had become a best-seller, and was being used by teachers and youth organizations. Baden-Powell decided to re-write Aids to Scouting to suit a youth readership. In August 1907, he held an encampment on Brownsea Island to test out his ideas with approximately 20 boys.

After his observations on Brownsea Island, Baden Powell wrote Scouting for Boys from his findings and experiences. The Scouting movement exploded all over England.  

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Letter to the Icon from William Kose, MD, JD, Vice President of Special Projects, Blanchard Valley Health System

Those of you who receive health insurance through Medicaid, or food through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, will be affected by some changes happening soon.

While these changes are happening at the federal level, and affect multiple agencies, we here at Blanchard Valley Health System want to help make sure everyone has the information they need.

Both Medicaid and SNAP have been operating under different regulations ever since public health declared a federal emergency on Jan. 31, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. States could not remove the insured from their Medicaid rolls as long as the public health emergency was in effect. 

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As you might have guessed by all of the hints and whisperings around town, I will be running for mayor of Ada in the 2023 election. 

There’s a long path ahead of us before November--from collecting signatures and officially filing the petition to the actual campaign itself. My goal is to reach out to every voter in our village and share my story and plan. 

Though I am still working hard on finalizing the exact details of my campaign, here are the three main pillars of what I’d like to accomplish as Ada’s next mayor. 

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The next election for the office of Mayor of Ada is November 7, 2023.

Today, [December 8, 2022] I have taken out a petition to run for Mayor of Ada in the November 2023 election. I am a long-time resident of the Village who believes that we need new energy and new direction to move Ada ahead. While we have seen growth in business development in the Village, there is no place for employees to live in Ada. The absence of suitable housing for families and lack of residential development is causing Ada to stagnate while nearby communities thrive. Addressing this problem will be the top priority of my administration.

I am a retired ONU law professor and administrator with significant experience in leading programs and securing and managing grants. I helped write the book on local Ohio government procedures for the Ohio State Bar Association and have been advising foreign governments on good governance for over 25 years. My wife Beth has been active in the Village and was a member of council for nearly 8 years. She currently serves as a volunteer for the American Red Cross. I have five children and four grandchildren spread all over the world.

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Letter to the Icon:

Within the last two hours I once again received a letter at my door in Ada from an anonymous group trying to raise the alarm against books “teaching our toddlers & youth about the gay, lesbian, transgender, & other lifestyle.” They are encouraging us to contact the Ada Library and express our concerns. What they fail to realize is that I, and I believe most of the residents of Ada are much more concerned with the actions of their group with their attempt to censor what is and is not available at our library for the public’s use. 

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To the Ada community,

As one of your newest village residents, I’d like to thank you for already making me feel like I’m home. Since becoming Ohio Northern University’s president this past summer, your warm welcome and hospitality has made all the difference.

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