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Some help saving our skin

As we’ve all been surviving under the rays of the hot summer sun in recent days, one organization has been working to offer some extra protection for area residents who are spending their days outdoors. The Hancock County Family Support Center, a division of the Brooke Hancock Family Resource Network, has installed portable sunscreen stations at five area parks. Throughout much of the year, visitors to Chester City Park, Clarke Field in Newell, New Cumberland City Park, as well as Marland Heights Park and Starvaggi Memorial Park in Weirton, will be able to find the yellow, ...

Take proper steps to beat the heat

Along with the arrival of astronomical summer — which happened at 10:42 p.m. Friday — has come a brutal heat wave, a stretch of extreme weather that means we all should be aware of the potential for severe health risks. According to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, the Tri-State Area will be under a heat advisory or an extreme heat warning through Wednesday. While the air temperature is expected to reach into the 90s, the heat index likely will be climbing into the 100s. That extreme heat and high humidity can lead to serious health issues. More people in this ...

Don’t make our health worse

Gov. Patrick Morrisey appears determined to turn around West Virginia’s hideous statistics when it comes to our health. Whether it be food dyes, the Mountaineer Mile or improvements in the ways SNAP recipients can access fresh produce, there have been plenty of announcements to indicate a desire to improve our health and health outcomes. But according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, the Mountain State is still ranked a pitiful 47th in the country for overall health system performance. That assessment comes before the effects of any possible changes to Medicaid that might make ...

Utilities are getting the math wrong

It’s always jarring when those representing corporations on which so many of us depend display their total disconnect from the real world most of us must navigate. Those of us who have to budget for utility payments — whether it be for a household or an industrial facility — could only laugh at Appalachian Power President and CEO Aaron Walker’s assessment of a 72% increase in residential customers’ rates since 2018. “I don’t think I’d say substantial. I don’t know what you mean by substantial,” he said during a West Virginia Public Service Commission hearing this ...

Those hills remain majestic and grand

It was 162 years ago today when the nation first learned that “Mountaineers are Always Free.” Since then, we West Virginians have worked hard to make our mark on bettering not only ourselves and our beloved Mountain State but also this great land in which we are so privileged to live. June 20, 1863 saw West Virginia born from the Civil War as the 35th state. Since then, our natural resources — coal, natural gas and timber — have helped to power a growing nation. Our natural beauty and wild and wonderful landscape are a playground for many seeking to connect with the ...

Juneteenth celebrates our past and future

Residents from across the Tri-State Area will be joining with those from across the country during the next several days to commemorate Juneteenth. There will be fun activities and games for children, vendors offering a wide variety of items and information, and there will be food — lots of it — including some of the best homemade dishes you can find in the region. But the annual celebration is about more than being able to enjoy a few days of entertainment and fun — it is a recognition, a chance to reflect on the significance of the Juneteenth holiday. The holiday remembers ...