Breaking News

Editorials

Keep the lines of dialogue open

Bethany’s new mayor, Thom Furbee, is hitting the ground running only a few weeks into his new position. While no stranger to local politics, having previously served as a member of the town’s council for 10 years and holding a prior appointment to the sanitation commission, Furbee has noted he doesn’t have all of the answers and is looking to the community he serves for suggestions. This week, he hosted a town hall meeting at Bethany Memorial Church, inviting town residents to sit down and talk about their concerns, ask questions, and offer suggestions for possible projects the ...

Officials must not avoid hard decisions

One of elected officials’ favorite tricks is to drag out the line “But are you better off than you were (insert politically beneficial timeframe here)?” It gets people thinking: Am I better off? For West Virginians living in a state that hopes to win an economic “Backyard Brawl,” the answer may very well be “no.” But according to WalletHub’s “States with the Most People in Financial Distress,” the Mountain State is ranked 45th In this case, that’s a good thing. West Virginia’s total score was 33.17. For comparison, the least distressed folks were in Hawaii, ...

Keeping the state clean

As the weather makes it easier for many of us to get out and about to explore our beautiful state, it may shine even brighter thanks to the work of West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection workers and volunteers. In fact, more than 6,000 of those volunteers took part this spring in cleaning more than 140 tons of litter from roads, streams, public lands and trails. All that work was made possible through the Make It Shine and Adopt-A-Highway programs. “Protecting our environment starts at the community level, and this year’s cleanup efforts show just how deeply West ...

Too far gone?

If anyone in our area needed a reminder that the efforts to maintain our state’s roadways has been ridiculously underfunded, all they had to do was listen to the discussions during last week’s Brooke County Commission meeting. Commissioners were approached by a county resident who expressed continued concerns over the status of U.S. 22, which, despite various attempts at “fixing” its crumbling surface over the years, continues to present unevenness, with a variety of cracks, craters and bumps. State Route 27, also known as Washington Pike, is another road of concern, with ...

Show support for our local farmers

Take some of the region’s freshest produce and throw in an opportunity for area residents to enjoy a pleasant day with family and friends, and you have the perfect recipe for local farmers markets. Held at many locations throughout the Tri-State Area, the markets offer a chance to buy fresh fruits and vegetables and to support the men and women who grow them. You’ll also find a variety of baked goods; jams, jellies and pickles; candies, cookies and fudge; and crafts from local organizations, vendors and crafters. The markets offer the chance to enjoy some time outside and make a ...

OVAC All-stars are set to shine

Fans of high school football in our region have been waiting for Saturday night for a long time. That’s when the 79th-annual Rudy Mumley Ohio Valley Athletic Conference All-Star Football Charity Classic will be played. As usual, the contest will allow the top graduated seniors from Ohio to square off against their counterparts from West Virginia, with kickoff set for 7:15 p.m. in Wheeling Island Stadium. Of course, there will be bragging rights on the line in the game, which was first played in 1940. Even more important will be the friendships that have been made during training ...