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This will be my final column of 2023, and, as I look back on some of the news stories, it certainly has been a year full of ups and downs.
In this business, we are constantly bombarded with information, so much of our work tends to blur after a while. There are those things that stick out when thinking over the last 12 months, though.
There were memorable moments, and a couple I would rather forget. Among them was having the opportunity to actually go inside a portion of the Weirton tin mill during a visit from Sen. Joe Manchin. I mentioned it in a previous piece, but it was definitely surreal to walk around the facility which normally is off limits to non-employees, seeing a part of what is left of what had once been the largest employer in the community.
It was a big year for economic development, with businesses big and small either opening their doors or announcing their plans.
In March, the Rock Springs Business Park in Chester - once the site of the Taylor, Smith and Taylor Pottery - would receive its first tenant when the Business Development Corp. announced Heavy Iron Oilfield Services, LP would relocate its operations from Canonsburg, Pa., to Hancock County.
In southern Brooke County, Pure Watercraft was welcomed to the community with a ribbon cutting at the Beech Bottom Industrial Park, followed by a demonstration of one of its electric pontoon boats on the Ohio River. Those in attendance, and later on residents, were even able to take a ride from the Wellsburg Wharf.
Weirton, of course, experienced much of the excitement, with a ceremonial groundbreaking (or beam-signing) from Form Energy in May and construction beginning soon after, as well as an opening ceremony for Fanti USA in the Half Moon Industrial Park area of the city. We can't forget the excitement for the openings of Primanti Bros. and Chipotle, either. We saw more responses on our social media from those two restaurants than anything else we covered this year.
To help end the year, we celebrated the groundbreaking of the Park Place development on Park Drive, and received word that a company called Boston Metal has plans to locate to Weirton in the next couple of years.
It wasn't all good news, though, as Trivium Packaging announced it would cease operations in Weirton, resulting in about 70 people losting their jobs.
Transportation was a big focus, especially in the later part of the year. The bridge between Wellsburg and Brilliant opened. I wasn't able to be there to witness the actual opening. That opportunity went to others on our news staff, but it was still an exciting time. We went through much of the year with construction on the Veterans Memorial Bridge, causing nightmares of backed-up traffic, and, unfortunately, several fatal crashes. Then, the last few weeks saw the closure of two of our region's major bridges. The Jennings Randolph Bridge will reopen once repairs are completed. The fate of the Market Street Bridge is more uncertain.
In a similar vein, Weirton Transit Corp., as it has been known since the late 1980s, came to an end after several major financial obstacles were realized and the decision was made to dissolve the private, non-profit transit provider. The buses will continue to run, in some fashion, but it will be under the auspices of the City of Weirton.
We saw a big change in the fabric of the Weirton area when it comes to charitable giving. The Weirton United Way officially announced its dissolution after more than a year of essential inactivity. Since then, the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley has stepped in to fill that void, with Staci Stephen and Madison Taylor working diligently to reach out to businesses, organizations and more to learn about our area's needs.
In the area of education, West Virginia Northern unveiled its new nursing simulation lab on the college's Weirton campus. In Hancock County Schools, Dan Enich was named superintendent.
There was a great deal more, obviously, but I'm limited for space. Overall, it was an interesting and exciting year of activity, and, from what we're seeing, it is only the beginning.
I can only wonder what 2024 will hold for our area.
(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)