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History in the Hills: Labor Day Pageants

This past week, my daughter, Stella, attended Weir High School’s youth cheer camp, hosted by the high school and Weir High cheerleaders. She couldn’t wait until cheer camp started this year and was so excited to show us all that she had learned when she got home. This is her third time attending. I appreciate the efforts of the school and the cheerleaders for putting this event on. We can’t wait until the students of the camp perform all they learned at a home football game at Jimmy Carey Stadium. As an attendee of the camp, she has performed with the group at a Weir High ...

October has always been my favorite color

Fall has always been my favorite time of the year. My being born in October has nothing to do with it. For me, Autumn is more than just a season. It is a feeling ... Something which is not experienced or felt during the other three. It is timeless. And yet, it goes by far too fast. I always begin the fall season early. Even though the summer is not quite finished with itself, just yet. The calendar may still say August, but my heart is telling me that autumn is right around the corner. So I begin my preparations. I purchase mums — which are already out in ...

Pressing issues with the Justice administration

We reporters like to think we have a thick skin. Being yelled at by politicians or their supporters, sometimes anonymously on social media, is par for the course in this business. Cat-and-mouse games between administrations, departments and lawmakers is common. But I’m kind of at my wit’s end. The attitude by Gov. Jim Justice and the communications officials in his administration and his departments toward the press, especially regarding issues within the governor’s control, has reached nearly a point of no return and I’m not sure what they can do to repair things beyond putting ...

A few odds and ends from recent weeks

There’s been a lot going on in the last few weeks, and, sometimes, there are decisions and observations that don’t always qualify for a full news article. I’ll occasionally use this opportunity to go through a few here and there. This is going to be one of those times. It would be helpful if the West Virginia Division of Highways would find a better way to describe the location of their projects than using milepost numbers. I realize the DOH communications staff has a lot of information to process, and I’m willing to bet most of them aren’t actually familiar with the ...

Meet the judges of the PSC

The Public Service Commission includes more than me and my fellow Commissioners. In addition to the three of us, the agency has a number of divisions to carry out all the things that allow us to supervise public utilities. We have lawyers, accountants, and engineers who each contribute specialized skills to the overall effort. There are also secretaries, inspectors, and the friendly staff at the front desk who receive your comments or complaints. One part of the Commission that you might come in contact with if you ever need to file a formal complaint is our Administrative Law Judges ...

It’s hard knowing what you want to be growing up

Oftentimes, I try to associate my column with what this week’s Valley Life article is about. So when I decided to write about local authors, I thought perhaps I should talk a little bit about why I decided to become a writer myself. If you could call me that. I am certainly not an author. Typically, I am a waitress. It is usually the profession I always find myself going back to simply because it makes me enough money in which to live sort of comfortably. What I always truly wanted to do, however, is write. I mean, when I was little, I didn’t think about becoming a writer. ...