While the second week of the 2020 legislative session was going on upstairs on the second floor of the State Capitol Building in Charleston, on the first floor candidates were lining up to get on the May 12 primary ballot and the Nov. 3 general election ballot. According to the West Virginia ...

By the time you’re reading this column today, hopefully all of my Christmas cookies and goodies will be digestive history. Honestly, December and January are sugar-charged commitments to the nth degree. Our kitchen island has been a hub for cookies and candy and all things sweet, a pile ...

Setting goals can help us in a variety of ways. Whether it is reading a book, completing school, cleaning and organizing your bedroom, or completing some grand adventure, we create a process to follow in order to reach that milestone. It provides a sense of accomplishment, and then we come up ...

Billy Graham writes: “The Bible was written by 40 writers, over a period of 1,600 years, in 66 books. And the great theme from one end of the Bible to the other is redemption.” In the fourth chapter of Hebrews, verse 12, it says: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper ...

Last week was the first week of the 2020 legislative session. Really, it was just three days, but I’m counting Monday and Tuesday since January legislative interim meetings started then. While it remains to be seen how the next 55 days of the 60-day session will go, this week was a bit ...

I saw a post on Facebook about five things people don’t keep in their homes anymore. A roll of the drum here, ladies and gentlemen… and those would be DVDs, CDs, file cabinets, takeout menus and wall calendars. What??!! Lies, lies and more lies, was my initial reaction because all ...

As I touched on last week, the election season is upon us. We’ve heard of a few local individuals interested in seeking office, including in the Legislature and on the county levels. There also, of course, is a group of candidates with their eyes on becoming the state’s next ...

Leviticus 18:21 (KJV) — And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. The command of God here is simple: do not sacrifice your children to false gods. Molech was a pagan god of the Amorites, to which ...

It is really hard to imagine that the 1920s were 100 years ago. Obviously, I am not old enough to remember that decade, but so many stories and events that are important to me happened in those 10 years. They feel as if they were my own, no matter how distant they are in the past. We tend to ...

For better or worse — mostly for worse during the past year and a half — the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston has been in the news. The media reports about former Bishop Michael Bransfield have gone national and international. Pope Francis, acting on a lay commission’s report, which he ...

The 2020 legislative session starts Wednesday, Jan. 8, and I’m struggling with what I can fill this column up with. Based on what media heard last week, this is not going to be a very exciting session. It’s understandable. It’s an election year, with all 100 House of Delegates seats and ...

Less than a week into the new year, and I’ve discovered a few things or been reminded of what I already knew. That would include the wonders of duct tape. You might be inclined to give up things because it’s a new year, and that might be fine and dandy, but my advice is to never try to ...

It’s 2020, which means many things to different people. For those of us in the news business, it means the presidential election season is in full swing. Of course, because of the nature of this beast, it seems as if the election has been taking place for at least the last year, but the ...

Wednesday is the start of a brand-new year, and if you thought 2019 went fast, expect the first half of 2020 to go even faster. There is a lot going on in a short amount of time, so I’m here to give you the important dates. Jan. 8: The start of the second session of the 84th Legislature. ...

I end one year and welcome a new one in between bookends of hope. And this is in spite of realizing that I’m a chronic failure as I inch along these final few days of 2019, reminded anew that my journey from January to December has been another fast and furious one on warp speed. It’s ...

I don’t like the idea of New Year’s Resolutions, as many of you probably know. It puts too much pressure on us to make such a declaration around a holiday, and, statistically speaking, we tend not to last long in attempting to reach them. For me, setting goals should not necessarily be an ...

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And auld lang syne. Chorus: For auld lang syne, my jo, For auld lang syne, We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne. (First verse and chorus by Robert Burns, 1788) “Auld lang ...

Christmastime is here, helping usher in the end of the second decade on the 21st century. I’ve been thinking a lot about the traditions we keep, whether they be your standard Christmas traditions handed down from times of old, or simply personal traditions created with family, friends, and ...

While many of those reading this column most likely are getting ready to celebrate Christmas, there are other celebrations this time of year. That’s why it’s known as the “Holiday season.” Whether it is Christmas and New Year’s, Hanukkah, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, ...

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and ...