It was a surprise to a lot of people Wednesday when crews showed up to begin paving Penco Road. It’s a project long in need, and there was word it was supposed to be done sometime in August, but no start date had been announced by the West Virginia Division of Highways.

From talking to a few people this week, not even Weirton city officials were aware until some of them drove by the area and saw the work being done.

We didn’t receive any notification until just before 1:30 p.m. Wednesday – seven hours after the WVDOH said the project was supposed to begin.

Thankfully, the folks in Charleston seem to have thought ahead for the planned inspection of the Veterans Memorial Bridge. There has been signage warning motorists of that project for the last several days, and notification sent out to local media to help give everyone plenty of notice for the overnight closure next weekend.

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Speaking of the Veterans Bridge, the right lane of the westbound side has been blocked off for several days, with a stop sign at the bottom of the onramp coming from Route 2 north. Unfortunately, not everyone seems to want to adhere to that particular traffic control device.

There have been multiple instances where I’ve seen drivers barely pause – and in some cases not even attempt to stop – before going on to the bridge. That includes a white vehicle which almost hit me the other morning. There were other vehicles in the left lane about to pass me, but, thankfully, enough room to swerve and avoid any collision.

Please, everyone, be careful and pay attention.

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I’ve had thoughts about Halloween pretty much since July 5. I’ve long outgrown trick-or-treating, but the thoughts of scary stories of ghost, goblins, and other unseen forces, combined with the historical aspects of the holiday celebrations, keep my interests for months ahead of the late October observance.

Well, we got word Friday morning that the City of Weirton’s trick-or-treating will be Oct. 30 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. I can only imagine that decision was, at least in part, because of the Weir High and Brooke High football game scheduled for Oct. 31. In fact, apparently, Friday night football is on the minds of other communities when it comes to Halloween this year.

Hopefully the little ghoulies are able to get plenty of sleep so they can still function in school the next day.

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WVU Medicine Weirton Medical Center has partnered with Hancock County Schools to launch Project SEARCH locally. I didn’t know much about this program prior to its announcement, but it sounds like a great opportunity for some of our area’s students.

Hopefully, everything goes well and those involved are able to see a path for their future. Maybe, it could even expand to other school districts in the area sometime down the road.

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Thanks to our colleagues from the Washington Observer-Reporter for providing us with the article on the man from Columbiana, Ohio, who has been dealing with concussion symptoms after being hit in the head by a thrown beer can at the recent Jason Aldean concert in Burgettstown.

It used to be venues for concerts and sporting events sold beverages in plastic cups, or, at the very least, opened the can before giving it to the customer. Hopefully, this wasn’t an issue with security where the individual was able to sneak it through the established screening. Either way, let this be a cautionary tale for better precautions.

(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/X @CHowellWDT)