Sharon Ankrum was a caring wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. She left this world on March 3, 2021 at age 73 after a long illness. She was born to Robert and Dorothy Lukens on August 12, 1947 in Coshocton, Ohio. After graduating from high school, she married her sweetheart, David Ankrum on June 25, 1966. […]
Mark Fortune
I live with my beautiful wife Nancy on a small farm just outside Coshocton. We have been married for thirty two years and have two grown children, Jessica and Jacob. Jessica is married to Aaron Mencer and they are employed with Coshocton City Schools. Jacob is a sophomore at Kent State University. I graduated from River View High School, have a Bachelor’s Degree from North Carolina Wesleyan University and am actively involved with the Roscoe United Methodist Church, serve on several local committees and am a member of the Coshocton Kiwanis Club, having served as Past-President. I love reading, especially military thrillers, the Civil War and history in general. My goal is to write a novel. My wife and I are also AdvoCare distributors and encourage anyone wanting to lose weight, gain energy and better health to explore AdvoCare at our website; www.fortunes4advocare.com. I love the media field, innovative technology and have worked in newspapers for over 30 years – in fact, my first job was delivering newspapers. The Beacon is a dream made possible by the support of this community and a great team. I hope to continue serving Coshocton County for many years.
Mark Fortune's Latest Posts
We’re coming down to the line and headed to spring
And I don’t mean a line in the sand. New COVID-19 cases are declining across the nation and as more and more people are vaccinated, we should see a continued decline in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Cases continue to decline following a peak in early January but are still too high. And now with the […]

Laughter really is the best medicine – and we need a good dose
Have you had a good laugh lately? With the seriousness of the past year and ongoing crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic, political turmoil, lack of real face to face social contact and so much more it would seem that the world is ripe for something to pop up on the stage and clamor for some […]

Did someone say that spring is on the way?
It’s a snowy Monday, President’s Day, Feb. 15 as I write this column. And more snow is predicted throughout this week and combined with frigid temperatures it seems like a winter of old. Ah the memories! Walking to school in those four-foot snowdrifts, bundled up like a roly poly teddy bear. And the mention of […]

The best part of the big game is always the food
That’s my opinion and I’m sticking with that like the Chiefs defense stuck with the Bucs’ receiving corp. A little too much apparently, for the referees. I thought that the referees controlled more of the outcome of the game than they should have. Let ‘em play! At least be consistent as teams navigate their way […]
We’re ready for the big game and more than ready for spring
Spring is less than two months away – in fact, if we use the date of this issue of The Beacon, Feb. 4, as the date to count “from” – we have a mere 46 days until spring. I am confident when I say this that all of us are ready and waiting for a […]

I can’t hear you through your megaphone
I think there are times when we need to press the “pause” button on sharing every single thought and criticism that dances through our brains just wanting to get out and play with others. The COVID-19 pandemic has put all of us in a different place, mentally, socially and in many cases, even physically. As […]

Moving in or moving out, let’s keep moving
Doctors and health professionals at all levels tell us that to keep our bodies flexible, healthy and retain some muscle mass – even as we age – we must keep moving. Walking, running, biking, swimming, choose your particular method of staying active for your own good. As we observe the inauguration of a new President […]

Giddiness dominates the day with Browns win
That was certainly an interesting week. Where do we go from here seems to be looking at things mildly, but I think taking a long-term view with a glass half full of optimism for the new administration is warranted and perhaps even necessary for where we are right now. Bringing the nation “back together” will […]