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Planning for their future

Think about how many times, during your elementary school years, an adult asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up. For many of us, there were the standard shoot-for-the-moon answers (sometimes maybe literally), but also a real beginning of pondering what was possible. That’s why opportunities such as the 2025 SMART529 “When I Grow Up” student and teacher essay contest are so important. West Virginia State Treasurer Larry Pack has announced essays can now be submitted, and the deadline for the contest is Feb. 28. For students, there is the chance to win as much as ...

Working to keep the dream alive

The spirit, legacy and dreams of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. remain alive in our area and will be on display again this holiday weekend. Pupils, parents, business leaders, civic and community leaders, senior citizens and others from across the Tri-State Area will have the chance to come together and remember King’s visions of equality, racial justice and nonviolent approach to bringing about social change. There are many events planned by the Steubenville Martin Luther Jr. Association, beginning Saturday, with the MLK Youth and Children’s Day. Scheduled to run between 7 ...

The path to the national championship

The path to Monday’s college football championship game has not been an easy one for either Notre Dame or Ohio State. For the Fighting Irish, troubles began on Sept. 7, when they suffered a 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois. That defeat set up a scenario where Notre Dame had to be perfect for the remainder of the season and win 13 games in a row to have any chance at the national title. For the Buckeyes, the low spot was not a 32-31 loss to Oregon on Oct. 12 —it was a 13-10 loss to hated-rival Michigan in Ohio Stadium on Nov. 30 that left the team and its fans reeling and created ...

Update the Code of Judicial Conduct

It’s been about a decade since the last time the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia worked on updates to the state Code of Judicial Conduct. Think about how much the world has changed since the last revision to that code, in November 2015. For that matter, think about how much we’ve learned by watching ethics questions play out on a state and national level. Chief Justice Tim Armstead was right to set the process in motion. “In order to promote and maintain the public’s trust in a fair, transparent, independent and impartial judiciary, it is important that we hold ...

Helping businesses start 2025 strong

If it took you several days to dig out, clear your driveway and sidewalk, maybe even wait for the roads closer to your home to be safe enough to drive on, you’re not alone. This past week’s winter storm was likely an inconvenience for you and your employer, with various levels of emergency being declared to keep as many people off the roads as possible. Now, stop and think for a minute about what the loss of those precious days has meant to many of our small, locally owned businesses — particularly retailers and restaurants. If you thought you were done worrying about whether ...

All must do their part to help our credit scores

Some of us may have shied away from looking at our credit scores once the holiday shopping was finished, but WalletHub took a look anyway and found perhaps we’d better do a little work. In its report the States With the Largest Credit Score Decreases, West Virginia ranked 11th in the country. The average credit score in the Mountain State fell by 0.61 percent between the third quarters of 2023 and 2024. In fact, by the end of third quarter of 2024, the average credit score in the state was 647. Ohio is doing a little better, with a rank of 22nd. In the Buckeye State, the average ...