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Remember what makes West Virginia grand

Friday was West Virginia Day – the observance of the anniversary of West Virginia’s statehood on June 20, 1863. West Virginia is a special place. Born of rebellion in the midst of the American Civil War, made of a proud people who were known to live for themselves and their communities, fighting for their rights and freedoms and not falling down before authorities. We are a hard-working people who cherish the beauty of our state and the traditions of our history. In a time when so much about society has been built to divide us, let us take some time to think about some of the ...

Guest column: Beware — scammers are on the prowl

We have all heard that there are plenty of scammers out there, but we don’t usually know when they are zeroing in on us. Alice was in the midst of selling vintage family clothing on a free website that listed items for sale. It was easy to use, and she was happy to think of making some money. One morning she got a response about selling a lightweight lady’s jacket. A person named Paul Harton said it was a very good price, and he wanted to buy it. She wondered why a man would want the jacket, but didn’t ask him. When Alice replied that she could meet in a public ...

Guest column: Real West Virginia men do mental health check‑ins

We’ve all heard it: “Real men don’t cry.” It’s become a badge of toughness but it’s also a barrier. Too many men learn to internalize pain and stay silent. At the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) in West Virginia, we say something different: real men check in. They check their blood pressure. They check on their families. And they check in on their mental health. June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month and West Virginia needs us to talk. Our state’s adjusted suicide rate is 18.3 per 100,000, above the national average of 14.3, and men make up nearly ...

Helping others: The best dollar I have ever spent

It isn’t often I feel as if I have made any real difference in this world. In other words, no real contribution of which to speak. If you think about it, there have been so many people who have made some kind of a change in another person’s life. Think of all of the inventions there have been — the everyday things we use which assist us in some small way. Yeah, somebody created that. It’s amazing. Think about all of the people who have made a difference. The ones who have done a good deed for another and never asking for anything in return. The volunteers who have ...

History in the Hills: The power of objects

I love how these articles develop. Sometimes I think about a topic for days and nothing comes together and finally in the course of a conversation, a word or phrase will hit me, and I have a topic just like that. For instance, this week’s piece came together in a similar way. I spoke to someone about something and wham — topic. In this case, the topic was discovered while talking about one of my favorite things — antiques. I love antiques, and the more the merrier, as far as I am concerned. Sometimes though, practicality and space is a concern, not to mention money. With that ...

A requiem for Doug Skaff, a complicated man

I really wasn’t expecting to have to write, in essence, an obituary for former lawmaker and politician Doug Skaff last Tuesday. The accident that killed him remains under investigation, but by all reports it was a freak accident on I-79 near Weston. Skaff’s SUV went into the back of a semi-truck and despite trying to brake in time, it was too late. Skaff was only five years older than me at 48. I had known him since his first stint in the House of Delegates in what was once the largest of the multi-member districts covering Kanawha County. He was a rising star in Democratic ...