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Continue fight on overdose deaths

Something is happening to the numbers on overdose deaths in the Tri-State Area and across the country — and the change is a welcomed one. According to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Buckeye State in 2023 experienced its first significant decrease in overdose deaths since 2017. Dennis Cauchon, founder and president of Harm Reduction Ohio, told the Statehouse News Bureau he’d been watching the data and by early 2024 realized these were more than just incremental changes. “When I realized it wasn’t a quirk, it made me cry, because every ...

How many more incidents will it take?

Lawmakers who still think it is more important to protect “personal freedoms” for homeschooling parents than it is to protect the children being kept at home got another wake-up call this week. Fortunately — this time — the children involved in this case are still alive to speak for themselves. An 8-year-old girl escaped a home in the South Hills area of Charleston and was found at a neighbor’s home. She was wearing handcuffs and made allegations of abuse and neglect, according to a report by WCHS. Charleston Police investigators have confirmed the girl, two teenaged boys ...

Fighting against our own battle of the bulge

West Virginia comes in last or very near the bottom in all kinds of significant categories. It’s been that way for so long, it’s almost a running joke. And when the state is at the top of a list, it’s usually for something like leading the nation in overdose deaths. Now, research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the state is leading in another category: Obesity. The CDC says obesity is increasing across the country. All U.S. states and territories have obesity rates higher than 20 percent. But in the Mountain State, an astounding 41.2 percent of ...

Bow hunt benefits the community

Each year, Weirton plays host to a controlled bow hunt within the city limits, organized through the efforts of the Weirton Police Department with assistance from the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources and others. The main purpose of this hunt, the history of which spans well over two decades, is to help provide some control to the local deer population, and, in turn, protect both the deer and residents from the effects of overpopulation. That includes the spread of disease, the potential of vehicle crashes and damage to private property. In recent years, though, the hunt ...

Welcome season with Fall River Fest

Fall officially arrived over the weekend, and with it an expectation of cooler temperatures, a change of color in the trees and a variety of celebrations focused on the traditional harvest. What better way to welcome the season, then, than by attending one of our local autumnal community events? New Cumberland’s Fall River Fest is set to take place Saturday and Sunday with a variety of vendors, entertainment and other activities for all ages. The festival will kick off at 9 a.m. Saturday with the River Fest 5K Walk and Run, with a course taking runners through town. It will be ...

Keep our state safe during fire season

Fall fire season is fast approaching in West Virginia. It begins Oct. 1 (though the ongoing drought has made conditions dangerous already). This will be the first season during which employees of the state Division of Forestry, Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Section and state parks have improved equipment to fight wildfires, after passage of Senate Bill 1032 back in 2023. At an event at Twin Falls State Park, officials announced the inclusion of two Type 3 bulldozers with specialized forestry and firefighting packages, three Type 6 wildland fire engines, six new drones with ...