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America’s Coal Industry: Still powering the nation, worth defending

For more than a century, America’s coal industry has powered our homes, forged our steel, and fueled our prosperity. It has been the backbone of industrial growth and a symbol of American strength, self-reliance, and hard work. Even today — after nearly two decades of relentless political and regulatory assault — coal remains one of this nation’s most valuable resources, sustaining hundreds of thousands of jobs and keeping electricity affordable and reliable for millions of families. Coal mining and the industries that depend directly on it employ more than 400,000 Americans. ...

Sometimes miracles are found on a 12-lane Texas highway

I have a large canvas print on the living room wall that reads: “When life gets too hard to stand … kneel.” I believe in those words. More than you can imagine. Don’t tell me that God doesn’t exist, for I have seen too much, felt too much and lived too much to believe otherwise. I have seen miracles, the kind that show up in the middle of a Monday afternoon when you are knee-deep in housework and worry. The kind that whisper, “I am here,” when the world around you has completely fallen apart. We live in a world that is quick to explain things away. ...

History in the Hills: Some hard times

My dear wife is a great cook. She works hard to provide wonderful nutritious meals to us every day regardless of how tired she is, how much work she did that day or despite the natural fact that sometimes our kids are less than excited about finishing their peas and carrots. She has sometimes made our pantry stretch between trips to the grocery store. We try to make do with what we have and do our best not to waste anything. In the summer we have a garden and, as a result, can much of our produce; we make maple syrup from maple sap in the early spring; in the fall we make apple sauce ...

Government needs to SNAP out of it

November legislative interim meetings began Sunday at Pipestem Resort State Park near Hinton in Summers County, continuing today and wrapping up Tuesday. This is the second time lawmakers have traveled for interims, with the Legislature holding interim meetings at Stonewall Resort near Roanoke in Lewis County. It’s part of the Legislature’s efforts to travel to different parts of the state and learn more about the unique regions in West Virginia. While West Virginia is unfortunately stereotyped as one image of the hillbilly, we know that our communities are vastly different and ...

Remember the giving in the upcoming season

Well, Halloween is (mostly) over, with some of our communities still scheduling their trick-or-treating this weekend. Now, we turn toward the holiday season that is Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, the Winter Solstice, Christmas, and New Year’s, among many others around the world. There was some criticism a couple of weeks back when crews from the City of Weirton began the process of putting up the community Christmas trees in the city’s north end and in front of the Millsop Community Center. Consider, though, they have limited manpower to put up the trees, as well as the ...

Guest Opinion: Powering America’s future from West Virginia

West Virginia has always been an energy state. From the coal that built our nation to the natural gas fueling the industries of tomorrow, our state has provided the reliable energy America needs to prosper. Today, we stand at another pivotal moment as FirstEnergy’s Mon Power and Potomac Edison propose the construction of a new 1,200-megawatt natural gas power plant. This project is about more than electricity — it’s about securing our energy future, creating good jobs, and ensuring West Virginia continues to lead America forward. The energy demands of the 21st century are ...