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It's been a busy month, and a great deal of thoughts have flooded my mind as a result, so I hope you don't mind a little recap and analysis.
First, I would be remiss to not mention the passing on Thursday of Emily Horvat.
Growing up in the area, and reading The Weirton Daily Times for much of my life, I, of course, knew of Emily. She was a part of this news staff, in one role or another, from 1955 to 1995, and for years after found ways to make contributions, either by providing content for various civic organizations, taking on the occasional correspondent assignment and offering various bits of historical context for those of us who have stuck around in the years since.
She also was a 2013 inductee into the Weirton Hall of Fame, recognized under the category of professions.
Emily often would visit our newsroom, and it was always a treat to see her, both for her friendship and whatever tidbits of news she would bring. She also made it a point to stop and pick up a box of doughnuts or other goodies at the store, saying she would feel bad if she didn't bring something with her. It was never expected, but always appreciated.
In more recent years, Emily would call me to check in and ask about some of the latest community news. I'll miss those calls.
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Thursday and Friday saw representatives of Form Energy host a pair of community open houses to give residents an opportunity to learn for themselves what the company's plans are for the 55 acres it is working to develop.
I stopped by for about the first hour or so Thursday evening, and, while there certainly were a lot of company representatives, there also was quite a showing from the people of Weirton. It wasn't just public officials, the media and a handful of citizens.
The timeline Form Energy is planning is amazing to look at, and, if it holds firm, we should be seeing a lot of progress on that site in the coming months. Work to grade the site has been taking place over much of the last month or so, and current plants, according to company officials, have an official groundbreaking and beginning of the foundation work set for the coming weeks.
Company officials also said the next big step for the community to begin the hiring process for various positions, and job fairs will be in the works.
I know there are still going to be questions, as with anything new. Hopefully, everyone gets their answers and this project is as successful as it has been projected.
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We've had a few bomb threats called in to a couple of our local grocery stores lately. A little over a week ago, the Kroger stores in both Weirton and Steubenville were evacuated after receiving calls at approximately the same time. Police and firefighters were dispatched, the stores were searched and declared safe. This past Monday, the Weirton store received another such call. Once again, the store was evacuated, police and fire were dispatched, the store was searched and declared safe.
I don't have any answers for why this is going on, but it certainly has raised lots of questions. Why these stores? Is it one person or a coordinated effort among several? What is the goal?
These instances not only disrupt the lives of employees and customers, but they also make our communities less safe. Our police officers and firefighters have to respond when these calls come in. They don't have the choice. But what about when another emergency takes place while they are focusing attention on what is essentially (so far) a prank call? Even with mutual aid agreements, there are only so many people available. Eventually, something is going to give.
From the journalist's perspective, how long do we continue covering these threats? I worry that we run out to these scenes, and it gives whomever is making the calls attention, and they're going to keep it up. But what if one day there really is danger? What then?
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Also, for those who didn't know, National Pretzel Day was Wednesday. I celebrated as I have for the last few years, by stopping at a local retail establishment and purchasing a soft pretzel and some cheese sauce. That's a day that probably doesn't get a lot of attention, outside of fans of "The Office." It should, though.
(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter @CHowellWDT)