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History in the Hills: Sharing mall memories

This week, I was able to spend some time in the Mall at Robinson Christmas shopping. While my wife shopped with my daughter and sons, my son Frankie and I moved from store to store looking for the perfect gift. Walking around the mall this week made me think of all the fun I had as a kid at our local mall, Steubenville’s Fort Steuben Mall. My parents would drop me off, usually by the theater, and I would meet up with my friends to hang out. We would spend hours going from store to store, eating at one of the restaurants and walking around. There was so much to do at the mall in ...

Christmas memories I wish would come back

Nostalgia sets in for most of us during the holidays, especially around Christmastime. It includes those memories we all miss. Everybody has some, or at least one. Think about it: There has to be at least one single time in your life that you wish you could go back and relive again. If only for a moment. It could be of a particular Christmas from your childhood, or a Christmas when you were the parent of a child who still believed in the magic of Santa Claus. We all have that one memory for which we just can’t let go. As you may recall, I am someone who chooses to live my ...

An educated guess on legislative goals

The next legislative session is going to have several issues to tackle, including whatever Governor-Elect Patrick Morrisey’s agenda will be, any possible messes left behind by outgoing Gov. Jim Justice, a likely hole to fill in the upcoming fiscal year 2026 general revenue budget, etc. But expect education to take a spotlight. With the number of traditional public school consolidations increasing and parents becoming angry at the closure of community schools, longer bus rides for their children, and other issues that come from shrinking county populations, some lawmakers are ...

Remembering the spirit of the holidays

We are in the midst of the opening days of the official Christmas shopping season, with the “observance” of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday filling our eyes and ears in our often-consumer-driven society. Don’t get me wrong, I believe fully in supporting business, especially our local businesses whenever possible. It’s great to go out into our local shops and purchase directly from those who are a part of our community...even better when they are owned and operated by our neighbors. But, understandably, that hustle and bustle and emphasis on spending so ...

December is here but at least we have music

Well, I blinked. And now, it is somehow December already. How does that happen? I am seriously still working on September at the moment. December is the one month that I am never ready for, even though I have 11 months in advance to prepare. Yet, somehow it still always sneaks up on you whether you are ready for it or not. I hate that. I mean, the month of December expects a lot out of us. It requires you to have motivation … so you can do your all of your holiday decorating. It requires you to have money … so you can buy presents that cost too much, are items which nobody even ...

Pressed for information in state government

As we get closer to the end of the administration of Gov. Jim Justice and transition to the incoming administration of Governor-Elect Patrick Morrisey, I’m looking forward to a change in how state government communicates with the public and press. For example, once again the West Virginia Department of Human Services decided to take something that should not have been all that controversial and make matters worse all because of their dislike of media scrutiny. On Tuesday, DoHS announced the closure of the West Virginia Children’s Home in Elkins effective Dec. 31 due to issues ...