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Building future community leaders

At some point in our lives, we each are given an opportunity to step into the role of a leader. Whether through a family function, a school activity, a work project, or organizing a community event, we quickly learn what leadership entails and the important role real leaders can play in getting things accomplished. The 11 graduates of the 2025 class of Leadership Ohio Valley have picked up similar experience over the last few months as they planned and attended their various sessions, volunteered their time toward a variety of causes, and organized a project in service to the ...

Doing more with healthy food options

West Virginia is not only routinely ranked as one of the poorest and most unhealthy states in the country, it also has the third-oldest population, according to data from the 2020 census. That means plenty of people with challenges related to their health, age and income. Fortunately, we have a state Department of Agriculture that understands all that, and is once again offering vouchers through the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, through Oct. 31. Though seniors must receive their vouchers in their home counties, they can use them at any participating farmers market in the ...

Be your own best advocate

It’s hard to know where to start when it comes to tackling the many challenges that are holding back West Virginians. There’s a new metric, a new study nearly every day that shows us how very far we have to go. But it’s important to use that information to help us change things — to show us where “the way things have always been” has gotten us. Among the more recent studies was WalletHub’s “States Where People Spend the Most and Least on Health Care.” Mountain State residents who already know we are among the most unhealthy in the country can guess where we wind up ...

When will rail safety be a priority?

Norfolk Southern says it still expects site restoration in East Palestine to be “substantially complete by early/mid June.” This despite additional monitoring wells being installed as recently as the end of March, and sediment and surface water monitoring that continues to show evidence of the catastrophic derailment that occurred there more than two years ago. Charts made available by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show there is still visible sheen on affected waterways — in fact, instances of heavy sheen being observed as late as April in part of Sulphur ...

Banketas deserving of honor

Chances are, if you have spent any amount of time in Weirton over the years, you have seen a building, community landmark, or project that has been touched by Tom Banketas. From serving on the Weirton Sanitary Board, to designing local business developments, to establishing community gardens, to financing and overseeing much of the construction of the current Weirton Christian Center, and contributing to an uncountable number of charitable organizations and efforts, Banketas’ generosity and work has touched many in the community. What sets him apart, even more, is that, despite all ...

Improve dental health in W.Va.

We’ve all heard the jokes about West Virginians’ dental health that plenty of us rushed to call unfair and untrue. They’ve been around for generations. The problem is, there is some truth to the idea that we’ve got a problem here. WalletHub’s “States with the Best and Worst Dental Health (2025)” notes the Mountain State is not quite dead last, but close. We are 49th, ahead of only Mississippi and Arkansas. We are 38th for dental habits and care, and dead last (51st) for oral health. West Virginia is 50th for the percentage of adults who visited a dentist in the past ...