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Improvements at park a good beginning

Editorials

While not nearly as large in scale as had originally been hoped, it is good to see the first phase of improvements at Marland Heights Park approaching its end. Members of the Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation have been looking at upgrades to the park in recent years, with funding being a major stumbling block, both to forward movement and to the size of the work planned. What had originally included plans for a new, all-season shelter was scaled down to a new restroom facility. New lighting has been added, with some of the pathways through the park updated and new water lines ...

Gee continues to serve

Editorials

Ohio State University isn’t letting its former President E. Gordon Gee rest for long, after his departure as president of West Virginia University. They’ve asked him to return to Columbus for a one-year consulting role. According to a report by The Columbus Dispatch, that role will include working with OSU’s new Salmon P. Chase Center to recruit faculty and increase the center’s presence on campus and nationally. Chase was Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of the treasury and later the sixth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, serving in that role until his death in 1873. ...

Road tripping around West Virginia

Local Columns

One of the great things about being a news reporter is getting to sometimes hit the road and explore parts of the state I’ve never been to, as well as meeting the people who make this state go. Last Wednesday, I hopped in my car and drove from Charleston to Mason County. I’ve been reporting about the impending sale of West Virginia’s state-owned long-term care facilities, so I wanted to take some photos of the one closest to me, which is Lakin Hospital a few miles outside of Point Pleasant along Route 2. I was only a few miles away from Lakin when there it was: a pothole right ...

The water bill will come due, eventually

Editorials

Not long ago, Weirton’s water system – and the people it serves - went through one of the worst winters in its history, with hundreds of line breaks and numerous water outages over a period of several weeks. People weren’t happy, and, eventually, the complaints found their way to the West Virginia Public Service Commission which held a public hearing in Weirton and launched its own studies of the system. Among its findings, the PSC ruled Weirton’s storage tank capacity is not sufficient enough to meet requirements of the city, that approximately 40 percent of the water lines ...

What is the fate of the Hancock County Museum?

Local Columns

There are so many things of import occurring nationally, on the state stage, county wise and within local governments that, on one hand, the fate of the Hancock County Museum hardly seems worthy of attention, yet, on the other hand, it is of utmost importance. It is a fine example of life in the late 1880s and has served as a teaching tool, as a gathering place, as a repository of valuable artifacts and as a place to hold receptions. Yet, it appears to be falling into ruin as noted by the boarded windows. Is the roof leaking? If so, it is leaking rain and dust onto a truly unique ...

Go slow when considering speed limits

Local Columns

Just about each month, the Weirton Traffic Commission convenes a meeting to consider requests for changes to traffic and parking regulations in the city. Many of those months, there is at least one request going before the commission focused on the matter of speeding (real or perceived) on a street or neighborhood. They come from residents and elected officials alike, many noting concerns for the safety of people in those areas as they feel motorists are driving too fast for a particular street, or not paying attention, with the fear of people – especially young children – being ...