Josh Bixler and his team once got a 3D printer to fly — while it was printing.
Aviation has been a lifelong passion for Bixler, who grew up in the Alliance area on a farm with a grass airstrip. His father was a general aviation pilot who taught him to fly (“I soloed in a single-engine Taylorcraft monoplane,” he says proudly). Bixler also learned the basic principles of aircraft design and construction while he and his father built numerous RC model airplanes.
June is that glorious month when we enjoy the longest days of the year. In fact, Ohioans get more than 15 hours of sunlight on several days surrounding the summer solstice later this month. In recent years, it’s also been a time when solar power draws significant attention as something that seems like an obvious solution to America’s ever-growing electricity needs.
But even as more electricity is added to the grid from solar resources, it’s important to understand that solar power alone cannot meet our nation’s electricity needs.
“No colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at the Muskingum.
When Ohio gained statehood in 1803, leadership recognized the potential of the Muskingum to facilitate the opening of Ohio and the entire Midwest for increased trade and development. As a result, in 1837, the legislature began funding construction of a series of 11 locks and dams on the river, spending $1.6 million over the next four years (roughly the equivalent of $1.4 billion today) for what was one of the most extensive — and expensive — public works projects of its kind in America at the time.
They start showing up on West Lincoln Avenue in Delaware — folding chairs, blankets, and snacks in tow — around dinnertime on Fridays during the summer, setting up on both sides of the street near No.
“I was so frustrated that I couldn’t play,” he says. So he started calling up a few musician friends and they did some socially distanced sets in his backyard for a few neighbors who would “sit and be kind,” he says. Soon enough, the neighbors encouraged them to move the show to the front yard.
Learning any hobby is always easier with a mentor — even a virtual one. Take birding, for example.
“The Merlin Bird ID app contains identification support and photos, sound recordings, maps, and descriptions for more than 10,000 bird species from around the world, with more species being added constantly,” says Kathi Borgmann, communications manager for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which developed and owns Merlin. “More than 29 million people worldwide have installed Merlin on their phones, with June 2024 seeing the greatest number of Merlin users, more than 5.4 million during that month alone.”
In 1957, humorist James Thurber wrote to Columbus Dispatch writer and artist Bill Arter to discuss the future of the house where Thurber had been born.
Not a bad local legacy for a humor writer and cartoonist who frequently made his hometown and its inhabitants the butt of his jokes. In stories like “The Day the Dam Broke” and “University Days,” the good citizens of Columbus and its land grant college, Ohio State University, were often portrayed as naïve or foolish at best, bumpkins at worst. But overall, his portrayal was fond, says Leah Wharton, operations director at Thurber House.
Nearly four decades ago, Dwight Miller climbed an electric utility pole to rescue a fellow lineman who had accidentally made contact with an energized line. The injuries were bad, and although the lineman survived, the scene haunted Miller’s sleep for weeks.
Miller’s laser focus on safety — whether in an official capacity or “just speaking up when nobody else would speak up” — altered his career path.
Culture of safety
Today, Miller’s nine-member safety team works in Ohio and West Virginia to coach, train, and support not only the 375 lineworkers employed by the co-ops, but all 1,500 cooperative employees in the state, with an aim to keep everyone safe.
A dog’s sense of smell is thousands of times more sensitive than that of a human being. So-called cadaver dogs, for example (working dogs trained to detect human remains), can even locate a drowned victim whose body is still underwater.
“The first water-detection dog in the U.S. began working in Arkansas several years ago,” said Lohr. “That K-9 program proved so successful, and now there are a dozen or more such dogs scattered throughout the country.”
Scott and Denise Scherer know the look — folks seeking a little pizzazz for their mundane mealtimes often find themselves wandering into their market, Saucy Sows Sweets and Meats, with a distinct look of hungry anticipation.
The Scherers have spent years perfecting their products and growing the business. Scott left a job in the beverage industry in 2012 in order to pursue his culinary interest. He initially thought about producing a new kind of mustard but quickly realized the market was flooded. After considerable experimentation, he developed sweet pepper mustard using fresh red and green peppers. Numerous taste tests yielded only positive results, but he still needed a name.
