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History in the Hills: Finding buried history

Fall is a special time of year here in our area. I love to watch the seasons change and our local colors come out on the trees. There is a chill in the air, but it is not too cold to be uncomfortable. There seems to be an anticipation, too, of the holidays just around the corner and all the fun that season brings as well. Usually this time of year, my family and I are going between horseback riding for our twins, football and scouts from my son, and dance for my daughter, but we still manage to squeeze in some fun at festivals and pumpkin patches. Fall is traditionally a spooky time of ...

It’s worth taking a moment and doing my job

When I started this job, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I hadn’t worked here in years. In the past, I’d written stories and taken photos as a staff writer. I had my “beats.” Those places I was continuously assigned to go. It was my responsibility to attend city council and school board meetings. It was my duty to follow along and understand what everyone was trying to get across. Through the disagreements. Amid the arguments. After a long-winded discussion back and forth. It was my job to tell you what was going on in the world. At least … in our ...

A vote of confidence in West Virginia

The time has finally arrived! Early voting in West Virginia begins at county courthouses or other designated places Wednesday and continues until Saturday, Nov. 2, excluding Sundays. I’m an early voter, though I do respect those who believe that one should only vote on Election Day, which is Tuesday, Nov. 5. As someone who covers the statewide elections, I’m pretty eager to get my voting done and out of the way. I’ll be very curious to see what voter turnout looks like once we get past Nov. 5. As I reported over the weekend, Republican voter registration continues to grow, with ...

Are we finally breaking out of the cycle?

The Tri-State Area, and West Virginia as a whole, have some hope, but it will still be coming slowly. That was much of the message presented by John Deskins, Ph.D., when he was in Weirton Oct. 9, meeting with local business and government officials to speak about his latest examinations of the state’s economy. Deskins last was in Weirton for such a presentation in April 2022, bringing some of his students to discuss the findings of their studies and surveys of the region, along with the state. At that time, we were still climbing out of the economic pit created by the COVID ...

Meet the West Virginia PSC engineers

When the Public Service Commission needs to know how something works or, just as importantly, how it should work, we turn to the experts in our Engineering Division. Never heard of them? Sure, you have. When Governor Justice asked us last year to determine whether all of the state’s fire hydrants were in working order, it was the Commission’s engineering staff that got the job. They evaluated all of the information and wrote a thorough analysis of the entire situation. The division works on many other types of special projects, too, such as investigating last November’s natural ...

British treachery manifests at Point Pleasant, unleashing the ‘dogs of war’

This month marks the 250th anniversary of the Battle at Point Pleasant between Shawnee warriors led by Chief Cornstalk and Colonial Militia led by Colonel Andrew Lewis. It is the most important battle ever fought in West Virginia, as it was arguably the first battle of the American Revolution. To understand the context of the battle, one must start 20 years earlier in 1754. The French had claimed the land north and south drained by the Mississippi – including the Ohio River Valley. In contrast, England had established colonies along the seaboard and claimed land east to west. When ...