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Tackling Weirton’s BAD buildings

Many of our communities have an ongoing battle with abandoned and dilapidated properties. Houses and businesses left to decay, with no care, become a nuisance, creating health concerns, attracting rodents and other animals, and, often, becoming an issue of safety as they fall apart or become home for drug use or other activities. Those communities who are able, set aside funding each year, but as expenses increase, those dollars can only be stretched so far, and, as a result, fewer properties can be addressed. The City of Weirton, in its own efforts to address these concerns is ...

Possibilities are endless for our youth

We have well and truly entered spring, and with it will come thoughts of proms, graduations, summer jobs and post-secondary choices for high school seniors. It’s also time to brace for the inevitable “So, what are you going to study?” from friends and relatives curious about what comes next. It’s an overwhelming question, even for students who have a very good idea of what they want to do when they finish their education. For those who haven’t yet decided, it’s important to follow your interests and go into a field that makes you feel productive and content; but it’s ...

Keep state government out of the way

State Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, didn’t mince words Monday when his colleagues voted to try to wrest more control of local decision-making from municipalities across the state. “This is dumb,” he said. “ … Where is this a problem that we have to address? I haven’t heard of any.” That’s because there are none. But some lawmakers are so bothered that cities operating under the Municipal Home Rule Program are not entirely under state government’s thumb that they voted in favor of Senate Bill 579. The bill would amend state code to make all municipal non-discrimination ...

Overcome challenges by working together

“If that’s the only way I had to do it, how would I do it?” Veronica Taylor asked while speaking to an Associated Press reporter in Welch, W.Va., about requirements set to go into effect March 31 for interacting with the Social Security system. At the end of this month, recipients will no longer be able to verify their identity to the Social Security Administration over the phone. Those who are unable to verify using the “My Social Security” online service will be required to visit an agency field office. But in pockets of the country — rural Appalachia, for example — ...

Take us out to the ballgame

There’s a certain magic about the start of the baseball season. It’s fitting that the game returns in the spring, the season of beginnings. It’s a time for optimism, as fans in cities across the United States and Canada are certain that their team will get to the playoffs, and even the World Series. Baseball is a game that brings people together. It offers the chance for a family to enjoy a day at the ballpark. It provides the opportunity for friends and neighbors to spend a warm summer evening on the deck, enjoying each other’s company while listening to or watching a ...

Support those who are there to support us

When the Red Cross of the Ohio River Valley needs our help, it is often in the form of blood donations and filling volunteer opportunities. But Wednesday, is Red Cross Giving Day — a chance for us to support this vital organization with financial donations, too. “This year’s disasters have set a whirlwind pace, displacing thousands of people from their homes across the country and disrupting the nation’s blood supply for patients,” said Erica Mani, chief executive officer for the American Red Cross Central Appalachia Region. “As we enter spring disaster season, families are ...