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Making sure program is used responsibly

Editorials

Members of the state House Finance Committee are working toward some important changes to safeguard taxpayer dollars, ahead of a planned “universal expansion” of the Hope Scholarship educational voucher program. Without many of the planned changes, the program will remain wide open to waste, fraud and abuse, as too many have taken advantage of the state’s failure to install guardrails earlier. The originating bill, which has not yet been numbered, would cap the annual Hope Scholarship award to eligible families at $5,250, with $250 going to the State Treasurer’s Office for ...

Chess not checkers

Letters to the Editor

To the Editor, The financial crisis facing Hancock County Schools did not happen overnight. It is the predictable result of rising costs, shrinking revenues, and hard decisions delayed. No teacher/employee thought the revenue that pays them would run out. I do not believe the Board of Education intended to pay people from a source that would run out. Hiring and spending decisions were made with good intentions — but produced bad results. Taxpayers assume that oversight boards fully understand the financial implications of their decisions. Some do, but some do not. The role of a ...

Caution where you step

Letters to the Editor

To the Editor, Over the past several months, the city of Weirton seems to be in some sort of financial difficulty. An old saying says, “if you do not know what lies ahead, on the path you’re walking, you could easily fall into an unseen hole.” Wanting to increase and upgrade the fire department by six additional members seems like a great idea, but only if there is sound reasoning and justification for increasing its size. I’m all for keeping the city protected, especially when it comes to fire protection, but can this increase be fully substantiated to a specific need? ...

Guest Column: Why we talk about teen mental health and why it matters now

Local Columns

West Virginia is at a pivotal moment when it comes to teen mental health. Across the country, young people ages 12 to 17 are experiencing rising levels of stress, anxiety and emotional distress. National surveys show that mental health challenges among adolescents are widespread and growing. Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. youth ages 12 to 17 have experienced a major depressive episode in the past year, and roughly 40% of high school students report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, well before adulthood and often affecting school performance, relationships and daily ...

We need to teach our children how to live

Local Columns

There is a quiet wisdom in the way a child watches the world. Their eyes are wide and not yet clouded by the cynicism of adulthood. Their hearts are constantly open, always believing in a way that most of us have forgotten how to do. Questions come tumbling out of their mouths like marbles spilled across a hardwood floor. But for some reason, we tend to take that precious innocence for granted. Instead, we spend so much of our time hurrying them toward the next milestone in life. We are continually preparing them for standardized tests, college applications, their future ...

Keeping the focus on job creation

Editorials

Though the usual suspects have tried again this year to get a few bizarre socio-cultural bills in front of lawmakers, the majority have displayed an impressive dedication to the goal set at the beginning of the session: put Jobs First — Opportunity Everywhere. In fact Senate Bill 1, the Small Business Growth Act, made its way to the governor’s desk unusually quickly. In a nutshell, the act establishes the West Virginia First Small Business Growth Program, with specialized growth funds collecting capital from investors to provide financing to eligible small businesses that ...